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HISTORY 

— ==^of"==== — 

Hampshire County 

WEST VIRGINIA 

From Its Earliest Settlement to the 

Present 

— co»— j 

BY HU MAXWELL AND H L SWISHER 



Illustrated, 



MORGANTOWW, WEST VIRGINIA 
A. BROWN BQUGHNER. PRINTER 
«87. 



COPYRIGHT BY 

fin Maxwell and H. JU SwisIh?. 

1*871 



A 



INTRODUCTION. 



ampshire county, the oldest in West Virginia, was 
med in 1754. It then included nearly all the valley of the 
uth branch, and its limits westward were not defined, 
he present county of Mineral and a portion of Morgan 
ere then in Hampshire. In 1785 Hardy county, including 
e present territory of Grant and part of Pendleton, was 
taken from Hampshire. In 1820 Morgan county was ere-, 
ated, taking- part of its territory ; and in 1866 Mineral was 
formed from Hampshire. Thus [the old -county was re- 
duced to its present limits. In 1784 its area was two 
thousand eight hundred square miles, with about fourteen 
thousand population. Its area is now six hundred and 
thirty square miles with about thirteen thousand popula- 
tion. □ In writing- the present history no labor or expense 
has been spared. The aim has constantly been to present 
a faithful narrative of C events, beginning- with the earliest 
explorations and settlements and leading- down to the 
present 'time. In order to present occurrences in their 
proper sequence and relation, the work has been divided 
into three parts. The first considers the county of Hamp- 
shire as one in a group of counties forming the state. 
Many features of history cannot be adequately considered 
if restricted to a single county because* they concern the 
whole state. Part L of this book, therefore, contains a 
synopsis of the history of West Virginia, thereby laying a 
broad foundation on which to construct the purely local 
history of the county. Part II. contains the county his- 
tory. Part III. deals with family history. Each of these 
parts is complete and could stand alone ; but the three are . 
so related that they form one work, the state history being 



INTRODUCTION. 



the foundation, the county history the superstruc 
and the family history the finishing*. Every nook and 
ner of Hampshire has been ransacked to collect the s 
tered and disconnected, but mutually related, fragme 
from which to compile this book. The magnitude of ti 
Work may be partially appreciated when it is stated th 
more than thirteen hundred families were visited at thei 
homes, and a record made of the births, marriages anc 
deaths in each family, not only for the present generation) 
but often extending back more than one hundred yearsJ t 
The result of this has been carefully condensed and is pre-! 
sented in part III. The aggregate distance traveled in col-i 
lecting this material was no less than three thousand miles.; 
and if one man had collected the material and written this 
History of Hampshire it would have occupied his whole 
time for seven hundred days. 

While the preparation of the family history was the most 
laborious and expensive part of the undertaking, much 
work was required for the other parts. The book has 
t>een written for the homes, and the aim has been to make 
it an educational work, not so much for the older people 
who probably are already acquainted with much that is in 
it, but for the young whose education has only begun. To 
this end, special attention has been given to the geography, 
botany, geology and mineralogy of the county, and the kin- 
dred topics relating to climate and products. These have 
been written from original investigation and observation ; 
for no writer had ever before entered that field in Hamp- 
shire count}', except in the most general and superficial 
manner. It is confidently believed that the school children 
X)i Hampshire will find the way opened for a more intelli- 
gent and practical understanding of their county's geog- 
raphy and natural features, particularly of what the moun- 
tains contain, how soils are made, and the effects of cli- 
mate, and many kindred topics. 

The destruction of man}^ of the county records during- 



CHAPTER t 



EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT. 

It is impossible to say when and where the first white 
man set foot on the soil of what is now West Virginia. In 
all probability no record was ever made of the first visit. 
It is well known that adventurers always push into new 
countries in advance of organized exploring- parties ; and 
it is likely that such was the case with West Virginia when 
it was only an unnamed wilderness. Probably the Indians 
who waged war with the early colonists of Virginia car- 
ried prisoners into this region on their hunting excursions. 
But there is no record of this, and history deals with rec- 
ords and not conjecture. Sixty-five years were required 
for the colonists of Virginia to become superficially ac- 
quainted with the country as far west as the Blue Ridge, 
which, until June 1670, was the extreme limit of explora- 
tions in that direction. The distance from Jamestown, 
the first colony, to the base of the Blue Ridge, was two 
hundred miles. Nearly three-quarters of a century was 
required to push the outposts of civilization two hundred 
miles, and that, too, across a country favorable for explor- 
ation, and with little danger from Indians during most of 
the time. In later years the outposts of civilization moved 
westward, at an average yearly rate of seventeen miles. 
The people of Virginia were not satisfied to allow the Blue 
Ridge to remain the boundary between the known and un- 
known countries; and, in 1670, sixty-three years after 
the first settlement in the state, the governor of Virginia 
sent out an exploring party with instructions to cross the 
mountains of the west, seek for silver and gold, and try to 



14 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



discover a river flowing- into the Pacific ocean. Early in 
Jane of that year, 1670, the explorers forced the heights of 
the Blue Ridge which they found steep and rocky, and de- 
scended into the valley west of that range. They discov- 
ered a overflowing due north, as far as they could see. The 
observations arid measurements made by these explorers 
• perhaps satisfied the- royal governor who sent them out; 
hut their accuracy may be questioned. They reported 
that the river which they had discovered was four hun- 
dred and fifty yards wide; its banks in most places one 
iM Bey oiid the river they said they 

could see towering mountains destitute of trees, and 
crowned by white cliffs, hidden much of the time in 
mist, but occasionally clearing sufficiently to give a glimpse 
of their ruggedness. They expressed the opinion that 
those unexplored mountains might contain silver and gold. 
They made no attempt to cross the river, but set out on 
their return. From their account of the broad river and 
its banks thousands of feet high, one might suppose that 
they had discovered the Canyon of the Colorado; but it was 
only New River, the principal tributary of the Kanawha. 
The next year, 1671, the governor of Virginia sent ex- 
plorers to continue the work, and they remained a consid- 
erable time in the valley of New River. If they penetrated 
as far as. the present territory of West Virginia, which is 
uncertain, they probably crossed the line into what is now 
Monroe or Mercer counties. 

Forty-five years later, 1716, Governor Spotswood of Vir- 
ginia led an exploring party over the Blue Ridge, across 
the Shenandoah river and to the summit" of the Allegheny 
mountains near the source of the South branch of the Po- 
tomac It is probable that the territory of West Virginia 
was entered on that occasion in what is now Pendleton 
county. It would be unreasonable to suppose that these 
exploring parties were the real pioneers of West Virginia. 
Baring hunters, traders and adventurers no doubt were 



INTRODUCTION. 



the war has been a serious obstacle in the way of fully in- 
vestigating many events in the county's early history. 
However, no source of information that could possibly 
throw light upon the subject has been neglected. The 
compilation of the history of the war in Hampshire pre- 
sented most discouraging difficulties. There were few 
documents and almost no chicial or unofficial records ac- 
cessible. Days of investigation often were required to fix 
a elate ; and sometimes the date could be fixed only approx- 
imately. The narratives of events were collected from 
scores of sources, and were often so conflicting that to 
bring order out of chaos seemed impossible. But, after 
months of labor, the chapter on the war is presented to 
the people with the assurance that they will find it an im- 
portant and painstaking record of events as they occurred 
in Hampshire. It is believed that, in the main features 
it is absolutely correct, and in the minor details it contains 
very few errors. 

It has not been the purpose to go much beyond the pres- 
ent borders of the county in dealing with its history, yet, 
so intimately are historical occurrences interrelated, that 
a proper handling of the subject often led the investigator 
beyond the confines of Hampshire. The book is a tolera- 
bly full history of the lower portion of the South branch 
valley. Trivial matters have been omitted in order to de- 
vote more space to what is of greater importance. Valua- 
ble assistance has been given by the citizens of Hampshire. 
They have cooperated nobly in the work, and if they find 
this history a book of value, they helped to make it so. 




o p 




PART I. 

State History 

«o« ■■ 

BY HU MAXWELL 



EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT. 15 



by that time somewhat acquainted with the geography of 
the eastern part of the state. Be that as it may, the ac- 
tual settlement of the counties of Jefferson, Berkeley, Mor- 
gan, Hampshire and Hardy was now near at hand. The 
gap in the Blue Ridge at Harpers Ferry, made by the Po- 
tomac breaking through that rang*e, was soon discovered, 
and through that rocky gateway the early settlers found a 
path into the valley of Virginia, whence some of them 
ascended the Shenendoah to Winchester paid above, and 
others continued up the Potomac, occupying- Jefferson 
county and in succession the counties above; and before 
many years there were settlements on the South branch 
of the Potomac. It is known that the South branch was 
explored within less than nine years after Governor Spots- 
wood's expedition, and within less than thirteen years 
there were settlers in that country. 

Lord Fairfax claimed the greater part of the territory 
in what is now the eastern panhandle of West Virginia; 
that is, he claimed the territory now embraced in the coun- 
ties of Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, Hardy and 
Grant. But his boundary lines had never been run. The 
grant called for a line drawn from the head of the Potomac 
to the head of the Rappahannock. Several years passed 
before it could be ascertained where the fountains of these 
streams were. An exploring party traced the Potomac 
to its source in the year 1736, and on December 14 of that 
year ascertained and marked the spot where the rainfall 
divides, part flowing- into the Potomac and part into Cheat 
river on the west. This spot was selected as the corner 
of Lord Fairfax's land; and on October 17, 1746, a stone 
was planted there to mark the spot and has ever since 
been called the Fairfax stone. It stands at the corner of 
two states, Maryland and West Virginia, and of four coun- 
ties, Garrett, Preston, Tucker and Grant. It is about 
half a mile north of the station of Fairfax, on the West 
Virginia Central and Pittsburg railroad, at an elevation of 



16 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



three thousand two hundred and sixteen feet above sea 
level. 

George Washington spent the summers of three years 
surveying- the estate of Lord Fairfax, part!}' in W est Vir- 
ginia. He began the work in 1748, when he was sixteen, 
and persecuted it with ability and industry. There were 
other surveyors employed in the work as well as he. By 
means of this occupation he became acquainted with the 
fertility and resources of the new country, and he after- 
wards became a large land holder in W est Virginia, one of 
his holding's lying as far west as the Kanawha. His knowl- 
edge of the country no doubt had something to do with the 
organization of the Ohio company in 1749 which was granted 
500,000 acres between the Monongahela and the Kanawha. 
Lawrence Washington, a half brother of George Washing*- 
ton, was a member of the Ohio company. The granting 
of land in this western country no doubt had its weight in 
hastening the French and Indian war of 1755, by which 
England acquired possession of the Ohio valley. The 
war would have come sooner or later, and England would 
have secured the Ohio valley in the end, and it would have 
passed ultimately to the L T nited States; but the events were 
hastened by Lord Fairfax's sending the youthful Wash- 
ington to survey his lands near the Potomac. While en- 
gaged in this work r Washington frequently met small par- 
ties of friendly Indians. The presence of these natives 
was not a rare thing in the South Branch country. Trees 
are still pointed out as the corners or lines of surveys made 
by Washington. 

About this time the lands on the Greenbrier river were 
attracting attention. A large grant was made to the 
Greenbrier compan} r ; and in 1749 and 1750 John Lewis 
surveyed this region, and settlements sprang up in a short 
time. The land was no better than the more easily acces- 
sible land east of the Alleghany mountains ; but the spirit 
of adventure which has always been characteristic of the 



EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT. 17 



American people, led the daring- pioneers into the wilder- 
ness west of the mountains, and from that time the out- 
posts of settlements moved down the Greenbrier and the 
Kanawha, and in twenty-two years had reached the Ohio 
river. The frontiersmen of Greenbrier were always fore- 
most in repelling" Indian attacks, and in carrying- the war 
into the enemy's country. 

The eastern counties grey/ in population, and within a 
dozen vears after their settlement there was an org-anized 
church on the South branch, with reguilar monthly meet- 
ing's at Opequon. Prior to the outbreak of the French 
and Indian war in 1755, there were settlements all along- 
the Potomac river, not only in Jefferson, Berkeley and 
Hampshire, but also in Hardy, Grant and. Pendleton coun- 
ties. It is, of course, understood that these counties, as 
now named, were not in existence at that time. 

The Alieg-hany mountains served as a barrier for awhile 
to keep back the tide of emigration from the part of the 
state lying- west of that rang-e; but when peace was re- 
stored after the French and Indian war the western valleys 
soon had their settlements. Explorations had made the 
country fairly well known prior to this time as far west as 
the Ohio. Immense tracts of land had been gr anted in 
that wilderness, and surveyors had been sent to mark the 
lines. About the time of the survey of the Greenbrier 
country, the Ohio company sent Christopher Gist to explore 
its lands already granted and to examine West Yirg-ima,^ 
Ohio and Kentucky for choice locations in view of obtain- 
ing- future grants. Mr. Gist, a noted character of his time, 
and a companion of Washing-ton a few years later, per- 
formed his task well, and returned with a report satisfac- 
tory to his employers. He visited Ohio and Kentucky-, 
and on his return passed up the Kanawha and New rivers 
in 1751, and climbed to the summit of the ledg-e of rocks 
now known as Hawk's Nest, or Marshall's Piller, over- 



18 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



hanging- the New river, and from its summit had a view of 
the mountains and inhospitable country. 

In speaking- of the exploration and settlement of "Wiest 
Virginia, it is worthy of note that the Ohio river was ex- 
plored by the French in 1749; but they attempted no set- 
tlement within the borders of the state. 

Had Virginia allowed religious freedom, a larg-e colony 
would have been planted on the Ohio company's lands, 
between the Monong-ahela and the Kanawha, about 1750, 
and this would probably have chang-ed the early history of 
this part of West Virginia. A colony in that territory 
would have had its influence in the subsequent wars with 
the Indians. And when we consider how little was lacking* 
to form a new state, or province, west of the Allegiiaiiies 
about 1772, to be called Vandalia, it can be understood 
what the result might have been had the Ohio company 
succeeded in its scheme of colonization. Its plan was to 
plant a colony of two hundred German families on its land. 
The settlers were to come from eastern Pennsylvania. 
All arrangements between the company and the Germans 
were satisfactory ; but when the hardy Germans learned 
that they would be in the province of Virginia, and that 
they must become members of the English church or 
suffer persecution in the form of extra taxes laid on dis- 
senters by the Episcopacy of Virginia, they would not go ; 
and the Ohio company's colonization scheme failed. 

Another effort to colonize the lands west of the Alle- 
ghanies, and from which much might have come, also 
failed. This attempt was made by Virginia. In 1752 the 
House of Burg-esses offered Protestant settlers west of the 
Alleghanies, in Aug-usta county, ten years' exemption from 
taxes ; and the offer was subsequently increased to fifteen 
years' exemption. The war with the French and Indians 
put a stop to all colonization projects. Virginia had enough 
to do taking- care of her settlements along the western 
border without increasing the task by advancing the fron- 



EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT. 



tier seventy-five miles westward. The first settlement, if 
the occupation by three white men may be called a settle- 
ment, on the Monong-ahela was made about 1752. Thomas 
Eckerly and two brothers, from eastern Pennsylvania, 
took up their home there to escape military duty, they 
being- opposed to war. They wished to live in peace re- 
mote from civilized man; but two of them fell victims to 
the Indians while the third was absent. The next settle- 
ment was by a small colony near Morg-antown under the 
leadership of Thomas Decker. This was in 1753, while 
the French and Indian war was at its heignt. The colony 
was exterminated by Indians the next spring*. 

In 1763, October 7, a proclamation was issued by the 
King- of England forbidding settlers from taking- up land 
or occupying- it west of the Alleg-hanies until the country 
had been boug-ht from the Indians. It is not known what 
caused this sudden desire for justice on the part of the 
king-, since nearly half the land west of the Alleg-hanies, in 
this state, had already been granted to companies or indi- 
viduals; and, since the Indians did not occupy the land 
and there was no tribe Avithin reach of it with any rig-ht 
to claim it, either by occupation, conquest or discovery.. 
Governor Fauquier of Virginia issued three proclamation-, 
warning- settlers west of the mountains to withdraw from 
the lands. No attention was paid to the proclamations. 
The g-overnors of Virginia and Pennsylvania were ordered. 
1765, to remove the settlers by force. In 1766 and the- 
next year soldiers from Fort Pitt, now Pittsburg-, were 
sent into West Virginia to dispossess the settlers by force- 
It is not probable that the soldiers were overzealous in 
carrying- out the commands, for the injustice and nonsen- . 
of such orders must have been apparent to the dullest 
soldier in the west. Such settlers as were driven away, 
returned as soon as the soldiers were g*one, and affairs 
went on as usual. Finally, Pennsylvania boug-ht the 
Indian lands within its borders; but Virginia after that: 



20 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



date, never paid the Indians for any lands in West Virginia. 
The foregoing" order was the first forbidding- settlements 
in West Virginia, north of the Kanawha and west of the 
Alleghanies. Another order was issued ten years later. 
Both were barren of results. The second will be spoken 
of more at length in the account of the incorporation of 
• part of Ohio in the Province of Quebec. 

Settlements along the Ohio, above and below Wheeling, 
were not made until six or seven years after the close of 
the French and Indian war. About 1769 and 1770 the 
Wetzels and Zanes took up land in that vicinity, and others 
followed. Within a few years Wheeling and the territory 
above and below, formed the most prosperous community 
west of the Alleghanies. That part of the state suffered 
from Indians who came from Ohio; but the attacks of 
the savag'es could not break up the settlements, and in 
1790, five years before the close of the Indian war, Ohio 
county had more than five thousand inhabitants, and Mon- 
ongalia had nearly as many. 

During the Revolutionary war, parts of the interior of 
the state were occupied by white men. Harrison count}'', 
in the vicinity of Clarksburg, and further west, was a 
flourishing community four or five years before the Revo- 
lution. Settlers pushed up the West fork of the Mononga- 
hela, and the site of Weston, in Lewis county, was occupied 
soon after. Long before that time frontiersmen had tlieir 
cabins on the Valley river as far south as the site of 
Beverly, in Randolph county. The first settlement in 
Wood county, near Parkershurg, was made 1773, and the 
next year the site of St, George, in Tucker county, was 
occupied by a stockade and a few houses. Monroe county, 
in the southeastern part of the state, was reclaimed from 
the wilderness fifteen years before the Revolution; and 
Tyler county's first settlement dates back to the year 177-5, 
Pocahontas was occupied at a date as early as any county 
west of the Alleghanies, there being white settlers in 1749; 



EXPLORATION AN 13 SETTLEMENT. 



21 



but not many. Settlements along- the Kanawha were 
pushed westward and readied the Ohio river before 1776. 

The population of West Virginia at the close of the Rev- 
olution is not known. Perhaps an estimate of thirty-live 
thousand would not be far out of the way. In 1790 the 
population of the territory now forming' West Virg-inia was 
55,873; in 1800 it was 78,592, a gain of nearly forty per cent 
in ten years. In 1810 the population was 105,469, a g-ain of 
thirty-five per cent in the decade. The population in 1820 
was 136,768, a g-ain of nearly twenty-three per cent. In 
1830 there were 176,924, a gain in ten years of over twenty- 
two per cent. In 1S40 the population was 224,537, a gain of 
more than twenty-one per cent. The population in 1850 
was 302,313, a gain in the decade of more than twenty-live 
per cent. In 1860 the population was 376,388, a gain of 
more than twenty-two per cent. In 1S70 the population 
was 442,014, a g'ain in ten years of nearly fifteen per cent. 
In 1880 the population of the state was 618,457, a gain of 
twenty-six per cent. In 1890 the population of the state 
was 762,794, a gain of mere than twenty-three per cent, in 
ten years. 

Land was abundant and cheap in the early daj^s of West 
Virginia settlements, and the state was generous in grant- 
ing- land to settlers and to companies. There was none of 
the formality reo uired, which has since been insisted upon. 
Pioneers usually located on such vacant lands as suited 
them, and they attended to securing a title afterwards. 
What is usually called the "tomahawk right" was no right 
in law at all; but the persons who had such supposed 
rig-hts were usually given deeds for what they claimed. 
This process consisted in deadening a few trees near a 
spring- or brook, and cutting* the claimant's name in the 
bark of trees. This done, he claimed the adjacent land, 
and his right was usually respected by the frontier people; 
but there was very naturally a limit to his r Mentions. 
He must not claim too much; and it was considered in his 



22 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



favor if he made some improvements, such as planting* 
corn, within a reasonable time. The law of Virginia gave 
.such settlors a title to 400 acres, and a pre-emption to 1,000 
more adjoining-, if he built a log cabin on the claim and 
raised a crop of corn. Commissioners were appointed 
from time to time, some as early as 1779, who visited differ- 
ent settlements and gave certificates to those who gave 
satisfactory proof that they had complied with the law. 
These certificates were sent to Richmond, and if no pre- 
test or contest was filed in six months, the settler was sent 
a deed to the land. It can thus be seen that a tomahawk 
right could easily be merged into a settler's right. He 
could clear a Tittle land, build his hut, and he usually ob- 
tained the land. The good locations were the first taken, 
and the poorer land was left until somebody wanted it. 
"The surveys were usually made in the crudest manner, 
often without accuracy and without ascertaining whether 
they overlapped some earlier claim or not. The foundation 
was laid for many future law suits, some of which may 
still be on the court dockets of this state. It is said that 
there are places in West Virginia where land titles are 
■five deep. Some of them are old colonial grants, stretching 
perhaps across two or three counties. Others are grants 
made after Virginia became a member of the United States. 
Then come sales made subsequently by parties having or 
claiming a right in the land. The laws of West Virginia 
are such that a settlement of most of these claims is not 
difficult, where the met^s and bounds are not in dispute. 



CHAPTER IL 



«o» 

INDIANS AND MOUNDBUILDEFS. 

Indians enter largely into the early history of the state, 
and few of the early settlements were exempt from their 
visitations. Yet, at the time West Virginia first became 
known to white men, there was not an Indian settlement, 
village or camp of any considerable consequence within its 
borders. There appears to have been several villages in 
the vicinity of Pittsburg, and thence northward to Lake 
Erie and westward into Ohio; but West Virginia was va- 
cant; it belonged to no tribe and was claimed by none with 
shadow of title. There were at times, and perhaps at 
nearly all times, a wigwam here or there within the bor- 
ders; but it belonged to temporary sojourners, hunters, 
fishermen, who expected to remain only a short time. So 
far as West Virginia is concerned, the Indians were not 
dispossessed of it by the white man, and they were never 
justified in waging war for any wrong done them within 
this state. The white race simply took land which they 
found vacant, and dispossessed nobod}'. 

There was a time when West Virginia was occupied by 
Indians, and they were driven out or exterminated; but it 
was not done by the white race, but by other tribes of In- 
dians, who, when they had completed the work of destruc- 
tion and desolation, did not choose to settle on the land they 
had made their own by conquest. This war of extermina- 
tion was waged between the years 1656 and 1672, as nearly 
as the date could be ascertained by the early historians, 
who were mostly missionaries among the tribes further 
north and west. The conquerors were the Mohawks, a 



24 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



fierce and powerful tribe whose place of residence was in 
Western New York, but whose warlike excursions were 
carried into Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West 
Virginia, even fu -ther south. They obtained firearms 
from the Dutch colonies on the Hudson, and having- learned 
how to use them, they became a nation of conquerors. The 
only part of their conquests which comes within the scope 
of this inquiry was their invasion of West Virginia. A 
tribe of Indians, believed to be the Hurons, at that time oc- 
cupied the country- from the forks of the Ohio southward 
along* the Monongahela and its tributaries, on the Little 
Kanawha, on the Great Kanawha .'and to the Kentucky 
line. During" the sixteen y.ekrs- between-. 165'6 and 1672 the 
Mohawks overran the country and left it a solitude, extend- 
ing their conquest to the Guyandot river. There was 
scarcely a Huron left to tell the tale in all this state. If a 
small village on the Little Kanawha at the coming of the 
white man was not a remnant of the Hurons, it cannot be 
ascertained that there was one of that tribe within the bor- 
ders of this state when the white men pushed their settle- 
ments into it. Genghis Kahn, the Tartar, did not exter- 
minate more completely than did these Mohawks. If there 
were any Huron refugees who escaped, they never returned 
to their old homes to take up their residence again. 

There is abundant evidence all over the state that In- 
dians in considerable numbers once made their home here. 
Graveyards tell of those who died in times of peace. The 
dead left on the field of battle are seldom buried by savages. 
Graves are numerous, sometimes singly, sometimes in 
large aggregations, indicating that a village was near by. 
Flint arrowheads are found everywhere, but more numer- 
ous on river bottoms and on level land near springs, where 
villages and camps would most likely be located. The 
houses of these tribesmen were built of the most flimsy 
material, and no traces of them are found, except fireplaces, 
which may occasionally be located on account of charcoal 



INDIANS AND MOUNDBUILDERS. 25 



and ashes which remain till the present day and may be un- 
earthed a foot or more below the surface of the ground. 
Round these fires, if the imagination may take the place of 
historical records, sat the wild huntsmen after the chase 
was over; and while they roasted their venison, they talked 
of the past and planned for the future; but how long- ago, 
no man knows. 

As to who occupied the country before the Hurons, or 
how long- the Hurons held it, history is silent. There is 
not a leg-end or tradition coming- down to us that is worthy 
of credence. There was an ancient race here which built 
mounds; and the evidence found in the mounds is tolera- 
bly conclusive that the people who built them were here 
long- before any Indians with which we are acquainted; 
but history has not yet been able to deal with the question 
whether the Indians built the mounds or whether they are 
the work of another race.' The strongest argument against 
the claim that the mounds are the work of Indians of a pre- 
historic time is the fact that Indians have not built mounds 
since they have been under the eye of the white race. This 
evidence is of a negative sort, but it is given weight, and 
properly so. The argument that the work done shpws 
that the people who built the mounds were a more highly 
civilized race than the Indians, is not well supported. 
They were probably more industrious. The mounds in 
this state, and in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, seem to 
have been the crude beginnings of architecture which was 
i7nproved and enlarged in the pyramids of Mexico, built, 
or supposed to have been built, by the ancestors of the 
Aztecs and Mayas. If such were the case, the conclusion 
would not be unreasonable that the people who built the 
mounds were driven southwest ward into Mexico by the 
irruption of a new people from the north, and that when 
the exiles reached their new home they turned their hands 
again to building mounds, and their experience in building- 
enabled them ultimately to build pyramids. In Mexico to- 



26 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



day the Indians, Mayas and Aztecs live side by side, and 
their features and general characteristics show them to be 
radically the same people, not different races. They are 
at least as much alike as are the Germans and Spanish, the 
Greeks and the French; and the common origin of these 
nations is not difficult to trace. The limits of this work 
will not permit an extended discussion of this puzzling- 
question. Neither is it proper nor profitable to enter 
at length upon the consideration of the origin of the In- 
dians. It is a question which history has not answered, 
and perhaps never will answer. If the origin of the In- 
dians were known, the origin of the people who w built the 
mounds would be near at hand. But the whole matter is 
one of speculation and opinion. The favorite conclusion of 
most authors is that America was peopled from Asia by 
way of Bering-s strait. It could have been done. But the 
hypothesis is as reasonable that Asia was peopled by emi- 
grants from America who crossed Berings strait. It is 
the same distance across, going* west or coming east; and 
there is no historical evidence that America was not peo- 
pled first; or that both the old world and the new were not 
peopled at the same time; or that each was not peopled in- 
dependently of the other. Since the dawn of history, and 
as far back into prehistoric times as the analysis of lan- 
guages can throw any light, all great migrations have been 
westward. No westward migration would have given 
America its inhabitants from Asia; but a migration from 
the west would have peopled Asia from America. As a 
matter of fact, Berings strait is so narrow that the tribes 
on either side can cross to the other at pleasure, and with 
less difficulty than the Amazon river can be crossed near 
its mouth. 

It is the opinion of ethnologists that a comparison of the 
grammatical construction of a large number of the Indian 
languages would reveal characteristics showing that all 
had a common origin. But the study has been barren of 



INDIANS AND MOUDBUILDERS. 27 

results tip to the present time. The language of the 
Indians is a puzzle, unless it be accepted as true that there 
is no common thread through all leading to one source. 
There were eight Indian languages east of the Mississipi 
at the coming of the Europeans. 

The number of Indians inhabiting a given territory was 
surprisingly small. They could hardly be said to occupy 
the land. They had settlements here and there. Of the 
number of Hurons in the limits of this state, before the 
Mohawk invasion, there is no record and no estimate. 
Probably net more than the present number of the inhabi- 
tants in the state capital, Charleston. This will appear 
reasonable when it is stated that, according to the mission- 
ary census, in 1640, the total number of Indians in the 
territory east of the Mississippi, north of the Gulf of 
Mexico and south of the St. Lawrence river, was less than 
one-fourth of the present population of the state of West 
Virginia. The total number is placed at 180,000. Nearly 
all the Indians who were concerned in the border wars in 
West Virginia lived in Ohio. There were many villages in 
that state, and it was densely populated in cemparison with 
.some of the others; yet there were not, perhaps, fifteen 
thousand Indians in Ohio, and they could not put three 
thousand warriors in the field. The army which General 
F orbes led against Fort Duquesne (Pittsburg) in 1758 was 
probably larger than could have been mustered by the 
Indians of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois combined, and the 
number did not exceed six thousand. The Indians were 
able to harrass the frontier of West Virginia for a quarter 
of a century by prowling about in small bands and striking 
the defenseless. Had they organized an army and fought 
pitched battles they would have been subdued in a few- 
months. 

While the Indians roamed over the whole country, hunt- 
ing and fishing, they yet had paths which they followed 
when going on long journeys. These paths were not made 



I 



28 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

with tools, but were simply the result of walking- upon 
them for generations. They nearly always followed the 
best grades to be found, and modern road makers have 
profited by the skill of savages in selecting the most prac- 
ticable routes. These paths led long- distances, and in a 
general direction, unvarying- from beginning to end, show- 
ing- that they were not made at haphazzard, but with design. 
Thus, crossing- West Virginia, the Catawba warpath led 
from New York to Georgia. It entered West Virginia 
from Fayette county, Pennsylvania, crossed Cheat river 
at the mouth of Grassy run, passed in a direction south 
by southwest through the state, and reached the head- 
waters of the Holsten river in Virginia, and thence 
continued through North Carolina, South Carolina and it is 
said reached Georgia. The path was well denned when 
the country was first settled, but at the present time few 
traces of it remain. It was never an Indian thoroughfare 
after white men had planted settlements in West Virginia, 
for the reason that the Indian tribes of Pennsylvania and 
New York had enough war on hand to keep tnem busy 
without making* long* excursions to the south. It i*s not 
recorded that any Indian ever came over this trail to attack 
the frontiers of 'West Virginia. The early settlements in 
Pennsylvania to the north of us cut off incursions from 
that quarter. A second path, called by the early settlers 
Warrior Branch, was a branch of the preceding. That 
is, they formed one path southward from New York to 
southern Pennsylvania, where they separated, and the 
Warrior Branch crossed Cheat river at McFarland's; took 
a southwesterly direction through the state and entered 
southern Ohio and passed into Kentucky. Neither was 
this trail much used in attacking the early settlements in 
this state. It is highly probable that both this and the 
Catawba path were followed by the Mohawks in their wars 
against the Huron s in West Virginia; but there is no 
positive proof that such was the case. Indian villages 



INDIANS AND MOUNDBUILDERS. 29 

were always on or near large trails, and by following 
•these, and their branches, the invaders would be led di- 
rectly to the homes of the native tribe which they were 
bent on exterminating. 

There were other trails in the state, some of them ap- 
parently very old, as if they had been used for many gen- 
erations. There was one, sometimes called the Eastern 
Path, which came from Ohio, crossed the northern part of 
West Virginia, through Preston and Monongalia counties, 
and continued eastward to the South branch of the Poto- 
mac. This path was made long- before the Ohio Indians 
had any occasion to wage war upon white settlers; but it 
was used in their attacks upon the frontiers. Over it the 
Indians traveled who harrassed the settlements on the 
South branch, and, later, those on the Monpngaaela and 
Cheat rivers. The settlers whose homes happened to lie 
near this trail were in constant danger of attack. During 
the Indian wars, after 1776, it was the custom for scouts to 
watch some of the leading trails near the crossing- of the 
Ohio, and when a party of Indians were advancing, to out 
run. them and report the danger in time for the settlers to 
take refuge in forts. Many massacres were averted in 
this way. 

The arms and ammunition with which the Indians fougmt 
the pioneers of this state were obtained from white traders; 
or, as from 1776 to 1783, or later, were often supplied by 
British agents. The worst depredations which West Vir- 
ginia suffered from the Indians were committed with arms 
and ammunition obtained from the British in Canada. This 
was during the Re volutionary war, when the British made 
allies of the Indians and urged them to harrass the west- 
ern frontiers, while the British regular army fought the 
Colonial army in the eastern states. 



CHAPTER III. 

»o« 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

For the first twenty-five years after settlements were 
commenced in the present territory of West Virginia there 
was immunity from Indian depredations. There was no 
occasion for trouble. No tribe occupied the South branch 
when the first colony was made; and the outposts of the 
white man could have been pushed across the state until 
the Ohio river was reached without taking" lands claimed 
or occupied by Indians, except perhaps in the case of two 
or three very small camps; and this most likely would 
have been done without conflict with Indians, had not Eu- 
ropeans stirred up these unfortunate children of the forest 
a,nd sent them against the colonists. This was done by 
two European nations, first by France, and afterwards by 
England. There w r ere four Indian wars w T aged against 
West Virginia; the war of 1755 and Pontiac's war of 1763, 
the Dunmore war of 1774 and the Revolutionary war of 
1776. In the war beginning in 1755 the French incited and 
assisted Indians ag-ainst the English settlements along- the 
whole western border. In the Revolutionary war the- 
British took the place of the French as allies of the Indians,' 
and armed these savages and sent them against the set- 
tiers on the western border. For at least a part of the. 
time the British paid the Indians a bounty on every scalp 
taken, making- no distinction between man, woman and. 
child. 

It is proper that the causes bringing about the French 
and Indian war be briefly recited. No state was more 
deeply concerned than West Virginia. Had the plan out- 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 31 

lined by the French been successfully executed, West 
Virginia would have been French instead of Engiish, and 
the settlements by the Virginians would not have been 
carried west of the Alleghany mountains. The coast of 
America, from Maine to Georgia, was colonized by En- 
glish. The French colonized Canada and Louisiana. 
About the middle of the eighteenth century the design, 
probably formed long- before, of connecting- Canada and 
Louisiana by a chain of iorts and settlements, began to be 
put into execution by the king- of France. The cordon 
was to descend the Alleg-hany river from Lake Erie to the 
Ohio, down that stream to the Mississippi and thence to 
New Orleans. The purpose was to confine the English to 
the strip of country between the Alleg-hanies and the At- 
lantic ocean, which would include New England, the 
greater part of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, East- 
ern Pennsylvania, the greater part of Maryland, seven 
eastern counties of W est Virginia, Virginia, North Caro- 
lina, South Carolina and Georgia. The French hoped to 
hold everything west of the Alleghany mountains. 
The immediate territory to be secured was the Ohio val- 
ley. Missionaries of the Catholic church were the first 
explorers, not only of the Ohio, but of the Mississippi val- 
ley, almost to the head spring's of that river. The French 
took formal possession of both banks of the Ohio in the 
summer of 1749, when and expedition under Captain Cel- 
eron descended that stream and claimed the country in the 
name of France. 

The determination of the Virginians to plant settlements 
in the Ohio valley was speedily observed by the French, 
who set to work to counteract the movement. They be- 
gan the erection of a fort on one of the upper tributaries of 
the Alleghany river, and no one doubted that they intended 
to move south as rapidly as they could erect their cordon 
of forts. Governor Dinwiddle of Virginia decided to send 
a messenger to the French who already were in the Ohio 



32 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE.. 



valley, asking- for what purpose they were there, and in- 
forming- them that the territory belonged to England. It 
wasa mere diplomatic formality, not expected to doany good. 
This was in the autumn of 1753, and George Y/ashingtoii, 
then twenty-one years of ag-e, was commissioned to bear 
the dispatch to the French commander on the Allegliany 
river. Washington left Williamsburg, Virginia, Novem- 
ber 14, to travel nearly six hundred miles througli a track- 
less wilderness in the dead of winter. When he reached 
the settlement on the Monongahela where Christopher 
Gist and twelve families had planted a colony, Mr. Gist ac- 
companied him as a guide. The message was delivered to 
the French commandant, and the reply having been writ- 
ten, Washington and Gist set out upon their return, on foot. 
The boast of the French that they would build a fort the 
next summer on the present site of Pittsburg- seemed 
likely to be carried out. Washington counted over two 
hundred canoes at the French fort on the Alleghany river, 
and he rightly conjectured that a descent of that stream 
was contemplated. After many dangers and hardships, 
Washington reached VvTiliamsburg and delivered to Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddie the reply from the French commandant. 

It was now evident that the French intended to resist 
by force all attempts by the English to colonize the Ohio 
valley, and were resolved to meet force with force. Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddie called the assembly together, and troops 
were sent into the Ohio valley. • Early in April, 1754, En- 
sign Ward, with a small detachment, reached the forks of 
the Ohio, where Pittsburg now stands, and commenced 
the erection of a fort. Here began the conflict which 
raged for several years along the border. The French 
soon appeared in the Alleghany with one thousand men 
and eighteen cannon and gave the English one hour in 
which to leave. Resistance was out of the question, and. 
Ward retreated. The French built a fort which they 
called Duquesne, in honor of the governor of Canada. 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



33 



The English were not inclined to submit so tamely- 
Virginia and Pennsylvania took steps to recover the site 
at the forks of the Ohio, and to build a fort there. Troops 
were raised and placed in command of Colonel Fry, while 
Washington was made lieutenant colonel. The instruc- 
tions from Governor Dinwiddie were explicit, and directed 
that all persons, not the subjects of Great Britain, who 
should attempt to take possession of the Ohio river or 
any of its tributaries, be killed, destroyed or seized as 
prisoners. When the troops under Washing-ton reached 
the Great Meadows, near the present site of Brownsville, 
Pennsylvania, it was learned that a partv of about fifty 
French were prowling in the vicinity, and had announced 
their purpose of attacking the first English they should 
meet. Washington, at the head of fifty men, left the camp 
and went in search of the French, came upon their camp 
early in the morning, fought them a few minutes, killed 
ten, including* the commander, Juinonville, and took twenty- 
two prisoners, with the loss of one killed and two or three 
wounded. The prisoners were sent to Williamsburg*, and, 
at the same time, an urgent appeal for more troops was 
made. It was correctly surmised that as soon as news of 
the fight reached Fort Duquesne, a large force of French 
would be sent out to attack the English. Considerable 
reinforcements were raised and were advanced as far as 
Winchester; but, with the exception of an independent 
company from South Carolina under Captain Maekay, none 
of the reinforcements reached the Great Meadows where tb e 
whole force under Colonel Fry amounted to less than four 
hundred men. 

The Indians had been friendly with the settlers on the 
western border up to this time; but the French having 
supplied them bountifully with presents, induced them t 
take up arms against the English, and henceforward the 
colonists had to fight both the French and the Indians. 
Of the two, the Indians were the more troublesome. They 



34 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



had a natural hatred for the Eng-lish, who had dispos- 
sessed the tribes east of the Alleghanies of their land, and 
were now invading- the territory west of that range. But 
it is difficult to see wherein they hoped to better their con- 
dition by assisting- the French to g-ain possession of the 
country; for the French were as greedy for land as were 
the Eng-lish. However, the majority of the natives could 
not reason far enoug-h to see that point; and without much 
invest ig-ation they took up arms in aid of the French. One 
sachem, however, wiser than the rest, is reported to have 
stated the case thus: "If the French claim all the land on 
one side of the river, and the English claim all on the other 
side, where is the Indians' land?" His countrymen were 
too busily eng-aged in preparation for war to give any an- 
swer, and they joined the French and marched against the 
Eng-lish. 

After the brush with Jumonville's party, it was expected 
that the French in strong- force would march from Fort Du- 
quesne to drive back the English. Washing-ton built Fort 
Necessity about fifty miles west of Cumberland, Maryland, 
and prepared for a fight. News was brought to him that 
large reinforcements from Canada had reached Fort Du- 
quesne; and within a few days he was told that the French 
were on the road to meet him. Expected reinforcements 
from Virginia had not arrived, and Washington, who had. 
advanced a few miles toward the Ohio, fell back to Fort 
Necessity. There, on the third of July, 1754, was fought 
a long and obstinate battle. Man j Indians were with the 
French. Washington offered battle in the open ground, 
but the offer was declined, and the English withdrew 
within the entrenchments. The enemy fought from be- 
hind trees, and some climbed to the top of trees in order to 
g*et aim at those in the trenches. The French were in su- 
perior force and better armed than the English. A rain 
dampened the ammunition and rendered many of the guns 
of the English useless. Washington surrendered upon 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



honorable terms which permitted his soldiers to retain 
their arms and bag-gage, but not the artillery. This capit- 
ulation occurred July 4, 1754, just twenty-two years before 
the signing- of the Declaration of Independence. The 
French and Indians numbered seven hundred men. Their 
loss in killed was three or four. The loss of the English 
was thirty. 

When Washington's defeated army retreated from the 
Ohio valley, the French were in full possession, and no at- 
tempt was made that year to renew the war in that quarter, 
but the purpose on the part of the English of driving the 
French out was by no means abandoned. It was now un- 
derstood that nothing less than a general war could settle 
the question, and both sides prepared for it. It was with 
some surprise, in January, 1755, that a proposition was re- 
ceived from France that the portion of the Ohio Ysllej be- 
tween that river and the Alleghanies be abandoned by both 
the French and the English. The latter, believing that 
the opportunity had arrived for driving a good barg-ain, de- 
manded that the French destroy all their forts as far as 
the Wabash, raze Niagara and Crown Point, surrender the 
peninsula of Nova Scotia, and a strip of land sixty miles 
wide along the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic, and leave 
the intermediate country as far as the St. Lawrence a 
neutral desert. France rejected this proposition, and un- 
derstanding the designs of the English, sent three thousand 
men to Canada. General Braddock was already on his way 
to America with two regiments; yet no war had been de- 
clared between England and France. The former an- 
nounced that it would act only on the defensive and the 
latter affirmed its desire for peace. 

When General Braddock arrived in America he prepared 
four expeditions against the French, yet still insisting that 
he was acting only on the defensive. One was against 
Nova Scotia, one against Niagara, one ag*ainst Crown Point, 
and the fourth against the Ohio valley, to be led by Brad- 



36 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



dock in person. This last is the only one that immediately 
concerns West Virginia, and it only will bespoken of some- 
what at length. In it Braddock lost his life. 

Much was expected of Braddock's campaign. He prom- 
ised that he would be beyond the Alleghanies by the end 
of April; and after taking- Fort Duquesne, which he calcu- 
lated would not detain him above three days, he would in- 
vade Canada by ascending the . Alleghany river. He ex- 
pressed no concern from attacks by Indians, and showed 
contempt for American soldiers who were in his own ranks. 
He expected his British regulars to win the battles. Never 
had a general gone into the field with so little understand- 
ing of what he was undertaking. He paid for it with his 
life. He set out upon his march from Alexandria, in Vir- 
ginia, and in twenty-seven days reached Cumberland with 
about two thousand men, some of them Virginians. Here 
Washington joined him as one of his aids. From Cumber- 
land to Fort Duquesne the distance was one hundred and 
thirty miles. The army could not march five miles a day. 
Everything went wrong. Wagons broke down, horses 
and cattle died, Indians harrassed the flanks. On June 19, 
1755, the army was divided, and a little more than half of 
it pushed forward in hope of capturing- Fort Duquesne be- 
fore the arrival of reinforcements from Canada. The 
progress was yet slow, although the heaviest baggage had 
been left with the rear division. Not until July 8 were the 
forks of the Monongahela reached. This river was forded, 
and marching on its southern bank, Braddock decided to 
strike terror to the hearts of his enemies by a parade. He 
drew his men up in line and spent an hour marching to 
and fro, believing that the French were watching- his every 
movement from the bluff beyond the river- He wished to 
impress them with his power. The distance to Fort Du- 
quesne was less than twelve miles. He re-crossed the 
river at noon. This was July 9. The troops pushed for- 
ward toward the fort, and while cutting a road through 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



37 



the woods, were assailed by Frenchand Indians in ambush. 
The attack was as unexpected as it was violent. It is not 
necessary to enter fully into the details of the battle which 
was disastrous in the extreme. The regular soldiers were 
panic stricken. They could do nothing- ag'ainst a concealed 
foe which numbered eight hundred and sixty-seven, of 
which only two hundred and thirty were French. About 
the only fighting on the side of the English was done by 
the Virginians under Washing-ton. They prevented the 
slaughter of the whole army. Of the three companies of 
Virginians, scarcely thirty remained alive. The battle 
continued two .hours. Qf the eighty-six officers in the 
army, twenty-six were killed, and thirty-seven were 
wounded. One-half the army was killed or wounded. 
Washington had two horses killed under him and four bul- 
lets passed throug-h his coat; yet he was not wounded. 
The regulars, when they had wasted their ammunition in 
useless tiring, broke and ran like sheep, leaving everything" 
to the enemy. The total loss of the English was seven 
hundred and fourteen killed and wounded. The French 
and Indians lost about sixty in killed and wounded. Brad- 
dock had five horses shot under him, and was finally mor- 
tally wounded and carried from the field. 

The battle was over. The English were flying toward 
Cumberland, throwing away whatever impeded their re- 
treat. The dead and wounded were abandoned on the 
field. Br ad dock was borne along in the rout, conscious 
that his wound was mortal. He spoke but a few times. 
Once he said: "Who would have thought it!" and again: 
"We shall know better how to deal with them another 
time." He no doubt was thinking of his refusal to take 
Washington's advice as to guarding* against ambuscades. 
Braddock died, and was buried in the night about a mile 
west of Fort Necessity. Washing-ton read the funeral 
service at the grave. 

When the f ugitives reached the division of the army un- 



38 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



der Danbr.^ which had been left behind and was corning 
up, the greatest confusion prevailed. General Dunbar de- 
stroyed military stores to the value of half a million dollars 
and did not cease to retreat until he reached Philadelphia, 
where he went into winter quarters. The news of the de- 
feat spread rapidly, and the frontier from New York to 
North Carolina prepared for defense, for it was well known 
that the French, now flushed with victory, would arm the 
Indians and send them against the exposed settlements. 
Even before the defeat of Braddock a taste of Indian war- 
fare was given many outposts. With the repulse of the 
army at Braddoek's field there was no protection for the 
frontiers of Virginia except such as the settlers them- 
selves could provide. One of the first settlements to re- 
ceive a visit from the savages was in Hampshire county. 
Braddock's defeated army had scarcely withdrawn when 
the savages appeared near the site of Romney and fired at 
some of the men near the fort, and the fire was returned. 
One man was wounded, and the Indians, about ten in num- 
ber, were driven off. Early the next spring a party of 
fifty Indians, under the leadership of a Frenchman, again 
invaded the settlements on the Potomac, and Captain Jere- 
miah Smith with twenty men went in pursuit of them. A 
light occurred near the source of the Capon, and the 
Frenchman and five of his savages were killed. Smith lost 
two men. The Indians fled. A few days later a second 
party of Indians made their way into the country, and were 
defeated by Captain Joshua Lewis with 'eighteen men. 
The Indians separated into small parties and continued 
their depredations for some time, appearing in the vicinity 
of the Evans fort, two miles from Martinsburg; and later 
they made an attack on Neally's fort, and in that vicinity 
committed several murders. A Shawnee chief named 
Killbuck, whose home was probably in Ohio, invaded what 
is now Grant and Hardy counties in the spring of 1756, at 
the head of sixty or seventy savagxs. He killed sweral 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 39 

settlers and made his escape. He appeared again two 
years later in Pendleton county, where he attacked and 
captured F or c be ybert, twelve miles west of the present 
town of Franklin, and put to death over twenty persons 
who had taken refuge in the fort. The x^lace no doubt 
could have made a successful resistance had not the in- 
mates trusted to the promise of safety made by the In- 
dians, who thus were admitted into the fort, and- at once 
massacred the settlers. In 1758, the Indians again invaded 
Hampshire county and killed a settler near the forks of 
Capon. This same year eight In dians came into the country 
on the South branch of the Potomac, near the town of 
Petersburg*, and attacked the cabin of a man named Bin- 
gamao. They had forced their way into the house at 
nig-ht, and being at too close Quarters for shooting, Binga- 
raan clubbed his rifle and beat seven of them to death. 
The eighth made his escape. In 1759 the Indians com- 
mitted depredations on the Monongahela river near Mor- 
gan town. 

The settlement on the Roanoke river in Virginia, be- 
tween the Blue Ridge and the Alleghany mountains, was 
the theater of much bloodshed in 1756, by Indians from 
Ohio who made their way, most probably, up the Kanawha 
and New River, over the Alleghanies. An expedition 
against them was organized in the fall of 1756, under An- 
drew Lewis who eighteen years later commanded the Vir- 
ginians at the battle of Point Pleasant. Not much good 
came of the expedition which marched, with great hard- 
ship, through that part of West Virginia south of the 
Kanawha, crossed a corner of Kentucky to the Ohio river 
f where an order came for them not to cross the Ohio nor 
invade the country north of that river. They returned in 
dead of winter, and suffered extremely from hunger and 
cold. This is notable from the fact that it was the first 
military expedition by an English speaking race to reach 
the Ohio river south of Pittsburg. 



40 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



During the three years following- Braddock's defeat, the 
frontier was exposed to danger. Virginia appointed 
George Washing-ton commander in chief of all forces raised 
or to be raised in that state. He traveled along- the whole 
frontier of his state, inspecting- the forts and trying to 
bring- order out of chaos. His picture of the distress of 
the people and the horrors of the Indian warfare is 
summed up in these words, addressed to the Governor of 
Virginia: "The supplicating tears of the women, and the 
moving petitions of the men, melt me with such deadly 
sorrow that I solemnly declare, if I know my own mind, I 
would offer myself a willing- sacrifice to the butchering 
enemy, provided that would contribute to the people's 
ease." He found no adequate means of defense. Indians 
butchered the people and lied. Pursuit was nearly always 
in vain. Washington insisted at all times that the only 
radical remedy for Indian depredation was the capture of 
Fort Duquesne. So long as that rallying point remained, 
the Indians would be armed and would harrass the fron- 
tiers. But, in case the reduction of Fort Duquesne could 
not be undertaken, Washington recommended the erection 
of a chain of twenty-two forts along the frontier, to be 
.garrisoned by two thousand soldiers. 

In 1756 and ag'ain in 1757 propositions were laid before 
the government of Virginia, and also before the com- 
mander-in-chief of the British forces in America, by Wash- 
ington for the destruction of Fort Duquesne. But in 
neither of these years was his proposition acted upon. 
However, the British were waging a successful war 
.against the French in Canada, and by this were indirectly 
contributing to the conquest of the Ohio valley. In 1758 
ail was in readiness for striking a blow at Fort Duquesne 
with the earnest hope that it would be captured and that 
rallying point for savages ultimately destroyed. 

General Joseph Forbes was given command of the army 
destined for the expedition against Fort Duquesne. This 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



41 



was early in 1758. * He had twelve hundred Hig-hlanders; 
two thousand seven hundred Pennsylvanians; nineteen 
hundred Virginians, and enough others to bring- the total 
to about six thousand men. Washington was leader of the 
Virginians. Without him, General Forbes would never 
have seen the Ohio. The old general was sick, and his 
progress was so slow that but for the efforts of Washing- 
ton in pushing forward, the army could not have reached 
the Ohio that year. A new road was constructed from 
Cumberland, intended as a permanent highway to the 
west. When the main army had advanced about half the 
distance from Cumberland to Fort Duquesne, Major Grant 
with eight hundred Highlanders and Virginians, went for- 
ward to reconnoitre. Intelligence had been received that 
the garrison numbered only eig'ht hundred, of whom three 
hundred were Indians. But a reinforcement of four hun- 
dred men from Illinois had arrived unknown to Major 
Grant, and he was attacked and defeated with heavy loss 
within a short distance of the fort. Nearly three hundred 
of his men were killed or wounded, acsd Major Grant was 
taken prisoner. 

On November 5, 1758, General Forbes arrived at L,oyal 
Hanna and decided to advance no further that year, but 
seven days later it was learned that the garrison of Fort 
Duquesne was in no condition for resistance. Washing-ton 
and twenty-five hundred men were sent forward to attack 
it. General Forbes, with six thousand men, had spent 
fifty days in opening fifty miles of road, and fifty miles re- 
mained to be opened. Washington's men, in five days from 
the advance from Loyal Hanna, were within seventeen 
miles of the Ohio. On November 25 the fort was reached. 
The French g*ave it up without a fight, set fire to it and 
fled down the Ohio. 

The power of the French in the Ohio valley was broken. 
When the despairing garrison applied the match which 
blew up the magazine of Fort Duquesne, they razed their 



42 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



last stronghold in the valley of the west. The war was not 
over; the Indians remained hostile, but the danger that 
the country west of the Alleghanies would fall into the 
hands of France w T as past. Civilization, progress and re- 
ligious liberty were safe. The gateway to the great west 
was secured to the English race, and from that day there 
was no pause until the western border of the United States 
was washed by the waters of the Pacific. West Virginia's 
fate hxmg in the balance until Fort Duquesne fell. The 
way was then cleared for colonization, which speedily fol- 
lowed. Had the territory fallen into the hands of France, 
the character of the inhabitants would have been different, 
and the whole future history of that part of the country 
would have been changed. A fort was at once erected on 
the site of that destroyed by the French, and in honor of 
William Pitt was named Fort Pitt. The city of Pittsburg 
has grown up around the site. The territory now em- 
braced in West Virginia was not at once freed from Indian 
attacks, but the danger was greatly lessened after the ren- 
dezvous at Fort Duquesne was broken up. The subse- 
quent occurrences of the French and Indian war, and Pon- 
tiac's war, as they affected "West Virginia, remain to be 
given. 

The French and Indian war closed in 1761, but the Pon- 
tiac war soon followed. The French had lost Canada and 
the Ohio valley, and the English had secured whatever real 
or imaginary right the French ever had to the country. 
But the Indians rebelled against the English, who speedily 
took possession of the territory acquired from France. 
There is no evidence that the French gave assistance to 
the Indians in this war; but much proof that more than 
one effort was made by the French to restrain the savages. 
Nor is the charge that the French supplied the Indians 
with ammunition well founded. The savages bought their 
ammunition from traders, and these traders w T ere French, 
English and American. In November, 1760, Rogers, an 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR, 



43 



English officer, sailed over lake Erie to occupy French 
posts further west. While sailing- on the lake he was 
waited upon by Pontiac, who may justly be regarded as 
"the ablest Indian encountered by the English in America. 
He was a Delaware captive who had been adopted by the 
Ottawas, and became their chief. He hailed Rogers on 
Lake Erie and informed him that the country belonged 
neither to the French nor English, but to the Indians, 
and told him to go back. This Rogers refused to do, and 
Pontiac set to work forming a confederacy of all the Indians 
between Canada on the north, Tennessee on the south, the 
Mississippi on the west and the Allegmanies on the east. 
His object was to expell the English from the country west 
of the Alleghany mountains. 

The superiority of Pontiac as an organizer was seen, not 
so much in his success in forming the confederacy as in 
keeping it secret. He struck in a moment, and the blow 
fell almost simultaneously from Illinois to the frontier of 
Virginia. In almost every case the forts were taken by 
surprise. Detroit, Fort Pitt and Fort Ligonier were al- 
most the only survivors of the fearful onset of the savag-es. 
Detroit had warning from an Indian girl who betrayed the 
plans of the savages; and when Pontiac, with hundreds of 
his warriors, appeared in person and attempted to take 
the fort by surprise, he found the English ready for him. 
He besieged the fort nearly a year. The siege began May 
9, 1763, and the rapidity with which blows were struck 
•over a wide expanse of country shows how thorough were 
his arrangements, and how well the secret had been kept. 
Fort Sandusky, near Lake Erie, was surprised and cap- 
tured May 16, seven days after Detroit was besieged. 
Nine days later the fort at the mouth of St. Joseph's was 
taken; two days later Fort Miami, on the Maumee river, 
fell, also taken by surprise. On June 1 Fort Ouatamon in 
Indiana was surprised and captured. Machilimackinac, 
far north in Michigan, fell also. This was on June % 



44 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Venango in Pennsylvania, near Lake Erie, was captured, 
and not one of the garrison escaped to tell the tale. Fort 
Le Boeuf, in the same part of the country, fell June 18. 
On June 22 Presque Isle, now Erie, Pennsylvania, shared 
the fate of the rest. On June 21 Fort Lig-onier was at- 
tacked and the siege persecuted with vigor, but the place 
held out. It was situated on the road between Fort Pitt 
and Cumberland. On June 22 the savag'es appeared before 
the walls of Fort Pitt, but were unable to take the place by 
surprise, although it was in poor condition for defense. 
The fortifications had never been finished, and a flood had 
opened three sides. The commandant raised a rampart 
■of logs round the fori and prepared to figmt till the last. 
The garrison numbered three hundred and thirty men, 
More than two hundred women and children from the 
frontiers had taken refug*e there. 

Despairing of taken the fort by force, the savages tried 
treachery, and. asked for a parley. When it was granted, 
the chief told the commandant of the fort that resistance 
was useless; that all the forts in the north and west had 
been taken, and that a large Indian army was on its march 
to Fort Pitt, which must fall. But, said the chief, if the 
English would abandon the fort and retire east of the 
Alleglianies, they would be permitted to depart in peace, 
provided they would set out at once. The reply given by 
the commandant was, that he intended to stay where he 
was, and that he had provisions and ammunition sufficient 
to enable him to hold out against all the savages in the 
woods for three years, and that English armies were at 
that moment on their march to exterminate the Indians. 
This answer apparently discouraged the savages, and. they 
did not push the siege vigorously. But in July the attack 
was renewed with great fury. The savages made numer- 
ous efforts to set the fort on fire by discharging burning 
arrows against it; but they did not succeed. They made 
holes in the river bank and from that hiding place kept up 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



45 



an incessant fire, but the fort was too strong- for them. 
On the last day of July, 1763, the Indians raised the siege 
and disappeared. It was soon learned what had caused 
them to depart so suddenly. General Bouquet was at that 
time marching- to the relief of Fort Pitt with live hundred 
men and a larg-e train of supplies. The Indians had g-one 
forward to meet him and give battle. As Bouquet marched 
west from Cumberland he found the settlements broken 
up, the houses burned, the grain unharvested, and desola- 
tion on every hand, showing- how relentless the savag-es 
had been in their determination to break up the settlements 
w T est of the Alleg-hanies. 

On Aug-ust 2, 1763, General Bouquet arrived at Fort Lig- 
onier, which had been besieged, but the Indians had de- 
parted, He left part of his stores there, and hastened for- 
ward toward Fort Pitt. On Aug-ust 5 the Indians who had 
been besieging- Fort Pitt attacked the troops at Bushy run. 
A desperate battle ensuued. The troops kept the Indians 
off by using the bayonet, but the loss was heavy. The 
next day the fight was resumed, the Indians completely 
surrounding the English. The battle was brought to a 
close by Bouquet's stratagem. He set an ambuscade and 
then feigned a retreat. The Indians fell into the trap and 
were routed. Bouquet had lost one-fourth of his men 
in killed and wounded; and so many of his pack horses had 
been killed that he was obliged to destroy a large part of 
his stores because he could not move them. After a march 
of four days the army reached Fort Pitt. 

The effect of this sudden and disastrous war was wide- 
spread. The settlers fled for protection from the frontiers 
to the forts and towns. The settlements on the Green- 
brier w r ere deserted. The colonists hurried east of the 
Alleghanies. Indians prowled through all the settled por- 
tions of West Virginia, extending their raids to the South 
branch of the Potomac. More than five hundred families 
from the frontiers took refuge at Winchester. Amherst, 



46 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



commander-in-chief of the British forces in America, was 
enraged when he learned of the destruction wrought by 
the Indians. He offered a reward of live hundred dollars 
to any person who would kill Pontiac, and he caused the 
offer of the reward to be proclaimed at Detroit. "As to 
accommodation with these .sava-es," said he, "I will have 
none until they have felt our just revenge." He urged 
every measure which could assist in the destruction of the 
savages. He classed the Indians as "the vilest race of 
beings that ever infested the earth, and whose riddance 
from it must be esteemed a meritorious act for the good 
of mankind." He declared them not only unfit for allies, 
but unworthy of being respected as enemies. He sent or- 
ders to the officers on the frontiers to take no prisoners, 
but kill all who could be caught. 

Bouquet's force was not large enough to enable him to 
invade the Indian country in Ohio at that time; but he col- 
lected about two thousand men, and the next summer 
carried the war into the enemy's country, and struck 
directly at the Indian towns, assured that by no other 
means could the savages be brought to terms. The army 
had not advanced far west of Pittsburg when the tribes of 
Ohio became aware of the invasion and resorted to various 
devices to retard its advance and thwart its purpose. But 
General Bouquet proceeded rapidly, and with such caution 
and in such force, that no attack was made on him by the 
Indians. The alarm among them was great. They fore- 
saw the destruction of their towns; and when all other re- 
sources had failed, they sent a delegation to Bouquet to 
ask for peace. He signified his willingness to negotiate 
peace on condition that the Indians surrender all white 
prisoners in their hands. He did not halt however in his, 
advance to wait for a reply. The Indians saw that the 
terms must be accepted and be complied with without de- 
lay if they would save their towns. The army was now 
within striking distance. The terms were therefore ac- 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 47 



cepted, and more than two hundred prisoners, a large 
number of whom were women and children were given up. 
Other prisoners remained with the Indians in remote 
places, but the most of them were sent to Fort Pitt the 
next spring-, according- to promise. Thus closed Pontiac 's 
war. 

An ag-ency had heen at work for some time to bring- 
about peace, but unknown to the English. It was the 
French, and without their co-operation and assistance it is 
probable the Indians would not have consented to the 
peace. DeNeyon, the French officer at Fort Chartres, 
wrote a leter to Pontiac advising- him to make peace with 
the English, as the war between the French and English 
was over and there was no use of further bloodshed. This 
letter reached Pontiac in November while he was con- 
ducting the siege of Detroit, and its contents becoming 
known to his Indian allies, greatly discouraged them; for 
it seems that up to this time they believed they were help- 
ing the French and that the French would soon appear 
in force and fig-ht as of old. When the Indians discovered 
that no help from France was to be expected, they became 
willing to make peace with Bouquet, and for ten years the 
western frontiers enjoyed immunity from war. 



CHAPTER IV, 



«o» 

THE DUNMORE WAR, 

The progress of the settlement of West Virginia from 
1764 to 1774 has been noticed elsewhere in this volume- 
There were ten years of peace; but in the }^ear 1774 war 
with the Indians broke out again. Peace was restored be- 
fore the close of the year. The trouble of 1774 is usually 
known as Dunmore's war, so called from Lord Dunmore 
who was at that time Governor of Virginia,, and who took 
personal charge of a portion of the army operating against 
the Indians. There has been much controversy as to the 
origen or cause of hostilities, and the matter has never yet 
been settled satisfactorily to all. It has been charged that 
emissaries of Great Britain incited the Indians to take up 
arms, and that Dunmore was one of the moving spirits 
in this disgraceful conspiracy against the colony of Vir- 
ginia. It is further charged that Dunmore hoped. to see 
the army under General Andrew Lewis defeated and 
destroyed^at Point Pleasant, and that Dunmore's failure 
to form a junction with the army under Lewis according 
to agreement, was intentional, premeditated and in the 
hope that the southern division of the army would be 
crushed. 

This is a charge so serious that no historian has a right 
to put it forward without strong evidence for its support 
—much stronger evidence than has yet been brought to 
light. The charge may be neither wholly true nor 
wholly false. There is not a little evidence against Dun- 
more in this campaign, especially when taken in connec- 
tion with the state of feeling entertained bv Great Britain 

3 



THE DUN MORE WAR. 



49 



against the American colonies at that time. In order to 
present this matter somewhat clearly, yet elimi rating- 
many minor details, it is necessary to speak of Great 
Britain's efforts to annoy and intimidate the colonies, as 
early as 1774, and of the spirit in which these annoyances, 
were received by the Americans. 

Many people, both in America and England, saw, in 
1774, that a revolution was at hand. The thirteen* colonies 
were arriving- very near the formation of a confederacy 
whose avowed purpose was resistance to Great Britain. 
Massachusetts had raised ninety thousand dollars to buy 
powder and arms; Connecticut provided for military 
stores and had proposed to issue seventy thousand dollars 
in paper money. In fact, preparations for war with 
England were g"oing steadily forward, although hostilities 
had not begun. Great Britain was getting ready to meet 
the rebellious colonies, either by strategy or force, or 
both. Overtures had been made by the Americans to 
the Canadians to join them in a common struggle for 
liberty. Canada belong-ed to Great Britain, having been 
taken by conquest from France in the French and Indian 
war. Great Britain's first move was regarding Canada; 
not only to prevent that country from joining the 
Americans, but to use Canada as a menace and a weapon 
against them. England's plan was deeply laid. It was 
largely the work of Thurlow and Wedderburn. The 
Canadians were to be granted full religious liberty and a 
large share of political liberty in order to gain their friend- 
ship. They were mostly Catholics, and with them En- 
gland, on account of her trouble with her thirteen colonies, 
took the first step in Catholic emancipation. Having won 
the Canadians to her side, Great Britain intended to setup 
a separate empire there, and expected to use this. 
Canadian empire as a constant threat against the colonies. 
It was thought that the colonists would cling to England 
through fear of Canada. 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, , 



The plan having- been matured, its execution, was at- 
tempted at once. The first step was the emancipation of 
the Canadian Catholics. The next step was the passage of 
the Quebec Act, by which the province of Quebec was ex> 
tended southward to take in western Pennsylvania and all 
the country belonging to England north and west of the 
Ohio river. The king- of England had already forbidden 
the planting of settlements between the Ohio river and the 
Alleghany mountains in West Virginia; so the Quebec Act 
was intended to shut the English colonies out of the west 
and confine them east of the Alleghany mountains. Had 
this plan been carried into execution as intended, it would 
have curtailed the colonies, at least Pennsvlvania and Vir- 
ginia, and prevented their growth westward. The country 
beyond the Ohio would have become Canadian in its laws 
and people; and Great Britain would have had tw r o empires 
in America, one Catholic and the other Protestant; or, at 
least, one composed of the thirteen colonies, and the other 
of Canada extended southward and westward, and it was 
intended that these empires should restrain, check and 
threaten each other, thus holding both loyal to and depend- 
ent upon Great Britain. 

Some time before the passage of the Quebec Act a move- 
ment was on foot to establish a new province called Van- 
dalia, west of the Alleghanies, including the greater part 
of West Virginia and a portion of Kentucky. Benjamin 
Franklin and George Washington were interested in it. 
The capital was to be at the mouth of the Kanawha. The 
province was never formed. Great Britain w r as not in- 
clined to create states w T est of the mountains at a. time when 
efforts were being made to confine the settlements east of 
that range. To have had West Virginia and a portion of 
Kentucky neutral ground, and vacant, between the empire 
of Canada and the empire of the thirteen colonies, would 
have pleased the authors of the Quebec Act. But acts of 
parliament and proclamations by the king had little effect 



/ 



THE DUNMORE WAR. 



51 



on the pioneers who pushed into the wilderness of the west 
to find new homes* 

Before proceeding- to a narrative of the events of the 
Dun more war, it is not out of place to inquire concerning 
Governor Dunmore and whether, from his past acts and 
general character, he would be likely to conspire with the 
British and the Indians to destroy the western settlements 
of Virginia. Whether the British were capable of an act 
so savage and unjust as inciting- savag-es to harrass the 
western frontier of their own colonies is not a matter for 
controversy. It is a fact that they did do it during- the 
Revolutionary war. Whether they had adopted this policy 
so early as 1774, and whether Governor Dunmore was a 
party to the scheme, is not so certain. Therefore let us 
ask, who was Dunmore? He was a needy, rapacious 
Scotch earl, of the House of Murray, who came to America 
to amass a fortune and who at once set about the accom- 
plishment of his object with little regard for the rights of 
others or the laws of the country. He was governor of 
New York a short time; and, although poor when he came, 
he was the owner of fifty thousand acres of land when he 
left; and was preparing to decide, in his own court, in his 
own favor, a large and unfounded claim which he had pre- 
ferred against the lieutenant-governor. When he assumed 
the office of governor of Virginia his greed for land and 
for money knew no bounds. He recog-nized no law which 
did not suit his purpose. He paid no attention to positive 
instructions from the # crown, which forbade him to meddle 
with lands in the west. These lands were known to be 
beyond the borders of Virginia, as fixed by the treaties of 
Fort Stanwix and Eochaber, and therefore were not in his 
jurisdiction. He had soon acquired two large tracts in 
southern Illinois, and also held lands where Louisville, 
Kentucky, now stands, and in Kentucky opposite Cincin- 
nati. Nor did his greed for wealth and power stop with 
appropriating wild lands to his own use; but, without any 



52 



.HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE.. 



warrant in law, and in violation of all justice, he extended 
the boundaries of .Virginia northward to include much of 
western Penns}dvania, Pittsburg in particular; and he 
made that the county seat of Augusta" county, and moved 
the court from Staunton to that place. He even chang-ed 
the name Fort Pitt to Fort Dunmore. He appointed forty- 
two justices of the peace. Another appointment of his as 
lieutenant of militia was Simon Girty, afterwards notori- 
ous and infamous as a deserter and a leader of Indians in 
their war ag*ainst the frontiers. He appointed John Con- 
nolly, a physician and adventurer, commandant of Fort 
Pitt and its dependencies, which were supposed to include 
all the western country. Connolly was a willing- tool of 
Dunmore in many a questionable transaction. Court was 
held at Fort Pitt until the spring* of 1776. The name of 
Pittsburg- first occurs in the court records on Aug-ust 20, 
1776. When Connolly received his appointment he issued 
a proclamation, setting- forth his authority. The Pennsyi- 
vanians resisted Dunmore 's usurpation, and arrested Con- 
nolly. The Virginia authorities arrested some of the 
Pennsylvania officers, and there was confusion, almost an- 
archy, so long- as Dunmore was governor. 

Dunmore had trouble elsewhere. His domineering- con- 
duct, and his support of some of Great Britain's oppres- 
sive measures, caused him to be hated by the Virginians, 
and led to armed resistance. Thereupon he threatened to 
make Virginia a solitude, using* these words: "I da enjoin 
the magistrates and all loyal subjects to repair to my as- 
sistance, or I shall consider the whole country in rebellion, 

* 

and myself at liberty to annoy it by every possible means, 
and I shall not hesitate at reducing- houses to ashes, 
and spreading devastation wherever I can reach. With a 
small body of troops and arms, I could raise such a force 
from among- Indians, negroes and other persons as 
would soon reduce the refractory people of the colony to 
obedience." The patriots of Virginia finally rose in arms 



THE DUNMORE WAR. 



53 



and drove Governor Dunmore from the country. Some of 
these events occurred after the Dunmore war, but they 
serve to show what kind of man the governor was. 

Perhaps the strongest argument against the claim that 
Dunmore was in league with Indians, backed by Great 
Britain, to push back the frontier of Virginia to the Alle- 
ghanies, is the fact that Dunmore at that time was reach- 
ing out for lands, for himself, in Illinois, Kentucky and 
Ohio; and his land grabbing would have been cut off in 
that quarter had the plan of limiting Virginia to the Alle- 
ghanies been successful. He could not have carried out 
his schemes of acquiring possessions in the west, had the 
Quebec Act been sustained. Dunmore did more to nullify 
the Quebec Act than any one else. He exerted every en- 
ergy to extend and maintain the Virginia frontier as far 
west as possible. By this he opposed and circumvented 
the efforts of Great Britain to shut Virginia off from 
the west. He and the government at home did not 
work together, nor agree on the frontier policy; and> in 
the absence of direct proof sustaining the charge that he 
was in conspiracy with the British government and the In- 
dians to assail the western frontier, the doubt as to his 
guilt on the charge must remain in his favor. 

From the time of the treaty made by General Bouquet 
with the Indians, 1764, to the year 1773, there was peace 
on the frontiers. War did not break out in 1773, but 
murders were committed by Indians which excited the 
frontier settlements, and were the first in a series which 
led to war. The Indians did not comply with the terms 
of the treaty with General Bouquet. They had agreed to 
give up all prisoners. It was subsequently ascertained 
that they had not done so. Some captives were still held 
in bondage. But this in itself did not lead to the war of 
1774. The frontiers, since Bouquet's treaty, had been 
pushed to the Ohio river, in West Virginia, and into Ken- 
tucky. Although Indians had no right by occupation to 



54 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



either West Virginia or Kentucky, and althoug-h they had 
gi ven up by treaty any right which they claimed, they yet 
looked with anger upon the planting- of settlements in those 
countries. The first act of hostility was committed in 
1773, not in West Virginia, but further south. A party 
of: emigrants, under the leadership of a son of Daniel 
Boone, were on their way to Kentucky when they were 
set upon and several were killed, including- young* Boone. 
There can be no doubt that this attack was made to pre- 
vent or hinder the colonization of Kentucky. Soon after 
this, a white man killed an Indian at a horse race. This 
is said to have been the first Indian blood shed on the 
frontier of Virginia by a white man since Pontiac's war, 
In February 1774 the Indians killed six white men and two 
negroes; and in the same month, on the Ohio, they seized a 
trading- canoe, killed the men in charge and carried the 
goods to' the Shawnee towns. Then the white men beg-an 
to kill also. In March, on the Ohio, a fight occurred be- 
tween settlers and Indians, in which one was killed on 
each side, and five canoes were taken from the Indians. 
John Connolly wrote from Pittsburg on April 21, to the 
people of Wheeling to be on their guard, as the Indians 
were preparing for war. On April 26, two Indians were 
killed on the Ohio. On April 30, nine Indians were killed 
on the same river near Steubenville. On May 1, another 
Indian was killed. About the same time an old Indian 
named Bald Eagle was killed on the Monongahela river; 
and an Indian camp on the Little Kanawha, in the present 
county of Braxton, was broken up, and the natives were 
murdered. A party of white men with Governor Dun- 
more's permission destroyed an Indian village on the 
Muskingum river. The frontiers were alarmed. Forts 
were built in which the inhabitants could find shelter from 
attacks. Expresses were sent to Williamsburg entreating 
assistance. The Virginia assembly in May discussed the 
dangers from Indians on the frontier, and intimated that 



THE DUNMORE WAR. 



55 



the militia should be called out. Governor Dnnmore 
ordered out the militia of the frontier counties. He then 
proceeded in person to Pittsburg", partly to look after his 
lands, and partly to take charge of the campaign against the 
Indians. The Dela wares and Six Nations renewed their 
treaty of peace in September, but the Shawnees, the most 
powerful and warlike tribe in Ohio, did not. This tribe 
had been sullen and unfriendly at Bouquet's treaty, and 
had remained sour ever since. Nearly all the captives yet 
in the hands' of the Indians were held by this fierce tribe, 
which defied the white man and despised treaties. These 
savages were ruled by Cornstalk, an able and no doubt a 
good man, opposed to war, but when carried into it by the 
headstrong- rashness of his tribe, none fought more bravely 
than he. The Shawnees were the chief fighters on the 
Indian side in the Dunmore war, and they were the chief 
sufferers^ 

After arranging- his business at Pittsburg", Governor 
Dunmore descended the Ohio river with twelve hundred 
men. Daniel Morgan, with a company from the valley 
of Virginia, was with him. A second army was being 
organized in the southwestern part of Virginia, and Dun- 
more's instructions were that this army, after marching 
down the Great Kanawha, should join him on the Ohio 
where he promised to wait. The Governor failed to keep 
his promise, but crossed into Ohio and marched against 
the Shawnee towns which he found deserted. He built a 
fort and sat down to wait. 

In the meantime the army was collecting which was to 
descend the Kanawha. General Andrew Lewis was com- 
mander. The pioneers on the Greenbrier and New River 
formed a not inconsiderable part of the army which ren- 
dezvoused on the site of Lewisburg* in Greenbrier county. 
In this army were fifty men from the Watauga, among 
whom were Evan Shelby, James Robertson and Valentine 
Sevier, names famous in history. Perhaps an army com- 



56 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



posed of better fig-hting- material than that assembled for 
the march to Ohio, never took the field anywhere. The 
distance from Lewisburg- to the mouth of the Great ' 
Kanawha was about one hundred and sixty miles. At that 
time there was not so much as a trail, if an old Indian path, 
liard to find, is excepted. At the mouth of Elk river the 
army made canoes and embarking- in them, proceeded to 
Point Pleasant, the mouth of the Kanawha, which they 
reached October 6, 1774. A halt was here made. Four 
days later the Indian army under Cornstalk arrived, about 
one thousand in number. The Virginians were encamped 
em the narrow point of land formed by the meeting- of the 
Kanawha and Ohio. The Indians crossed the Ohio the 
evening- before, or during- the nig-ht, and went into camp 
on the West Virginia side, and about two miles from the 
Virginians. The were discovered at daybreak, October 
10, by two young- men who were hunting-. The Indians 
fired and killed one of them; the other escaped and carried 
the news to the army. 

This was the first intelligence the Virginians had that 
the Indians had come down from their towns in Ohio to 
give battle. By what means the savag-es had received in- 
telligence of the advance of the army in time to collect their 
forces and meet it before the Ohio river was crossed, has 
never been ascertained; but it is probable that Indian 
scouts had watched the progress of General Lewis from 
the time he took up his march from Greenbrier. Cornstalk 
laid well his plans for the destruction of the Virginian 
army at Point Pleasant. He formed his line across the 
v neck of land, from the Ohio to the Kanawha, and enclosed 
the Virginians between his line and the two rivers. He 
posted detachments on the farther banks of the Ohio and 
the Kanawha + t > cut off General Lewis should he attempt 
to retreat across either river. Cornstalk meant not only 
to defeat the army, but to destroy it. The Virginians 
numbered eleven hundred. 



THE DUN MORE WAR. 



57 



When the news of the advance of the Indian army 
reached General Lewis, he prepared for battle, and sent 
three hundred men to the front to meet the enemy, The 
fiofht began at sunrise. Both armies were soon engaged 
over a line a mile long-. Both fought from behind trees, 
logs and whatever would offer protection. The lines were 
always near each other; sometimes twenty yards, some- 
times less; occasionally near enough to use the tomahawk. 
The battle was remarkable for its obstinacy. It raged 
six hours, almost hand to hand. Then the Indians fell 
back a short distance and took up a strong position, and all 
efforts to dislodge them by attacks in front failed. Corn- 
stalk was along his whole line, and above the din of battle 
his powerful voice could be heard: "Be strong! Be strong!" 
The loss was heavy among the Virginians, and perhaps 
equally heavy among the Indians. Late in the afternoon 
General Lewis discovered a way to attack the Indians in 
flank. A small stream with high banks empties into the 
Kanawha at that point, and he sent a detachment up this 
stream, the movement being concealed from the Indians, 
and when an advantageous point was reached, the soldiers 
emerged and attacked the Indians. Taken by surprise, 
the savages retreated. This movement decided the day in 
favor of the Virginians. The Indians fled a short distance 
up the Ohio and crossed to the western side, the most of 
them on logs and rude rafts, probably the same on which 
they had crossed the stream before the battle. The Vir- 
ginians lost sixty men killed and ninety-six wounded. 
The loss of the Indians was not ascertained. They left 
thirty-three dead om the fleld, and were seen to throw 
others into the Ohio river. All their wounded were car- 
ried off, 

The battle of Point Pleasant was the most stubbornly 
contested of all frontier battles -with the Indians; but it 
was by no means the bloodiest. Several others could be 
named in which .the loss of life was much greater; notably 



4S HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Braddock's defeat, and the defeat of General St. Clair. 
The battle of Point Pleasant was also remarkable from 
the number of the men who took part in it who aftewards 
became noted. Among- them may may be mentioned Isaac 
Shelby, the first governor of Kentucky; Y/illiam Campbell, 
the hero of King's mountain, and who died on the battle 
neld of Eutaw Springs; Colonel John Steele, afterward 
governor of Mississippi; George Mathews, afterward gov- 
ernor of Georgia; Colonel William Fleming, governor of 
Virginia, and many others. Nearly all the men who were 
in that battle and afterward returned to their homes, were 
subsequently soldiers of the American army in the war 
for independence. 

The day following the battle, Colonial Christian arrived 
with three hundred soldiers from Fincastle. Fort Ran- 
dolph was built at Point Pleasant; and after leaving a gar- 
rison there, General Lewis crossed the Ohio and marched 
nearly a hundred miles to the Scioto river to join Governor 
Duamore. Before he arrived at Fort Charlotte, where 
Dunmore was, he received a message from the governor, 
ordering him to stop, and giving as. a reason that he was 
about to negotiate a treaty with the Indians. General 
Lewis and his men refused at first to obey this order. 
They had no love for Dunmore, and they did not regard 
Mm as a friend of Virginia. Not until a second express 
arrived did General Lewis obey. 

After the fight at Point Pleasant, Cornstalk, Logan and 
Red Eagle, the three principal chiefs who had taken part 
in the battle, retreated to their towns with their tribesmen. 
Seeing that pursuit was swift and vigorous, Cornstalk 
called a council and asked what should be done. No one 
had any ad vice .to offer. He then proposed to kill the old 
men, women and children; and the warriors then should 
go out to mee^ the invaders and fight till every Indian had 
met his death on the field of battle. No reply was made 
to this proposition. Thereupon Cornstalk said that since 



THE DUNMORE WAR. 



59 



his men would not fight, he would go and make peace; 
and he did so. Thus ended the war. Governor Dun more 
had led an army of Virginia into Ohio, and assumed and 
exercised authority there, thus setting aside and nullify- 
ing the act of parliament which extended the jurisdiction 
of Quebec to the Ohio river. 



CHAPTER V, 



«o» 

WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION, 

The territory of the present state of West Virginia was 
not invaded by a British army, except one company of fifty, 
during- the war for American independence. Its remote 
position made it safe from attack from the east; but this 
very remoteness rendered it doubly liable to invasion from 
the west where Great Britain had made allies of the In- 
dians, and had armed and supplied them, and had sent 
them against the frontiers from Canada to Florida, with 
full license to kill man, woman and child. No part of 
America suffered more from the savages than West Vir- 
ginia. Great Britain's purpose in employing- Indians on 
the frontiers was to harrass the remote country, and not 
only keep at home all the inhabitants for defense of their 
settlements, but also to make it necessary that soldiers be 
sent to the west who otherwise might be employed in op- 
posing- the British nearer the sea coast. Notwithstanding- 
West Virginia's exposed frontier on_the west, it sent many 
soldiers to the Continental army. West Virginians were 
on almost every battlefield of the revolution. The portion 
of the state east of theAlleg-hani.es, now forming Jefferson, 
Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, Hardy, Grant, Mineral and 
Pendleton counties, was not invaded by Indians during* 
the revolution, and from this region larg-e numbers of sol- 
diers joined the armies under Washington, Gates, Greene 
and other patriots. 

As early as November 5, 1774, an important meeting 
was held by West Virginians in which they clearly indi- 
cated under which banner they would be found fighting, 



WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION. 61 



if Great Britain persisted in her course of oppression. 
This was the first meeting- of the kind west of the Alle- 
gh anies, and but few similar meeting's had then been held 
anywhere. It occurred during- the return of Dunmore's 
army from Ohio, twenty-five days after the battle of Point 
Pleasant. The soldiers had heard of the danger of war 
with England; and, although they were under the command 
of Dunmore, a royal governor, they were not afraid to let 
the country know that neither a royal governor nor any 
one else could swerve them from their duty as patroits 
and lovers of liberty. The meeting- w as held at Fort 
Gower, north of the Ohio river, while on the homeward 
march from the Indian country. The soldiers passed 
resolutions which had the right ring-. They recited that 
they were willing and able to bear all hardships of the 
woods; to get along for weeks without bread or salt, if 
necessary; to sleep in the open air; to dress in skins if noth- 
ing else could be had; to march further in a day than any 
other men in the world; to use the rifle with skill and with 
bravery. They affirmed their zeal in the cause of rig-ht, 
and promised continued allegiance to the king of England, 
provided that he would reign over them as a brave and free 
people. "But," they continued "as attachment to the real 
interests and just rights of America outweigh every other 
consideration, we resolve that we will exert every power 
within us for the defence of American liberty, when 
regularly called forth by the unanimous voice of our 
countrymen." It was such spirit as this, manifested on 
every occasion during the revolution, which prompted 
Washington in the darkest year of the war to exclaim that, 
if driven from every point east of the Blue ridge, he would 
retire west of the mountains and there raise the standard 
of liberty and bid defiance to the armies of Great Britain. 

At two meeting's held May 16, 1775, one at Fort Pitt, the 
other at Hannastown, several W x est Virginians were 
present and took part in the proceedings. Resolutions 



62 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



were passed by which the people west of the mountains 
pledged their support to the Continental congress, and 
expressed their purpose of resisting- the tyranny of the 
mother country. In 1775 a number of men from the valley 
of the Monong-ahela joined Washing-ton's arm}- before 
Boston; but how many and from what part of the valley 
they came is not known. The number of soldiers who 
went forward from the eastern part of the state was larg-e. 

There were a few persons in West Virginia who ad- 
hered to the cause of England; and who from time to time 
g-ave trouble to the patriots; but the promptness with 
which their attempted rising-s were crushed is proof that 
traitors were in a hopeless minority. The patriots con- 
sidered them as enemies and dealt harshly with them. 
There were two attempted uprising's in West Virginia,, 
one in the Monongahela valley, which the inhabitants of 
that region were able to suppress, the other uprising- was 
on the South branch of the Potomac, in what is now Hardy 
and Grant counties, and troops were sent from the 
Shenandoah valley to put it down. In the Monongahela 
valley several of the tories were arrested and sent to 
Richmond. It is recorded that the leader was drowned in 
Cheat river while crossing- under guard on his way to 
Richmond. Two men of the Morgan family were his 
guard. The boat upset while crossing the river. It was 
the general impression of the citizens of the community 
that the upsetting* was not accidental. The guards did 
not want to take the long- journey to Richmond while their 
homes and the homes of their neig'hbors were exposed to 
attacks from Indians. The tory uprising on the South 
branch was much more serious. The first indication of 
trouble was given by their refusal to pay their taxes, or 
to furnish their quota of men for the militia. Complaint 
was made by the sheriff of Hampshire county, and Colonel 
Vanmeter with thirty men was sent to enforce the collec- 
tion of taxes. The tories armed 'themselves, to the mini- 



WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION. 63 



ber of fifty, for resistance, and placed themselves under 
the leadership of John Brake, a German whose house was 
above Petersburg-, in what is now Grant county. These 
enemies of their country had made his place then- 
rendezvous. They met the militia from Hampshire, but 
no fight took place. Apparently each side was afraid to 
begin. There was a parley in which Colonel Vanmeter 
pointed out to the tories the consequence which must 
follow, if they persistsd in their present course. He ad- 
vised them to disperse, go to their homes and conduct 
themselves as law abiding- citizens. He left them and 
marched home. 

The disloyal element grew in strength and insolence. 
They imagined that the authorities were afraid and would 
not again interfere with them. They organized a com- 
pany, elected John Claypole their captain, and prepared to 
march off and join the British forces. General Morgan 
was at that time at his home in Frederick county, and he 
collected militia to the number of four hundred, crossed 
the mountain and fell on the tories in such dead earnest 
that they lost all their enthusiasm for the cause of Great 
Britain. Claypole was taken prisoner, and William Baker, 
who refused to surrender, was shot, but not killed. Later 
a man named Mace was killed. Brake was overawed; and 
after two days spent in the neighborhood, the militia, un- 
der General Morgan, returned home. The tories were 
crushed. A number of them were so ashamed of what 
they had done that they joined the American army and 
fought as patriots till the close of the war, thus endeavor- 
ing to redeem their lost reputations. 

The contrast between the conduct of the tories on the 
South branch and the patriotic devotion of the people on 
the Greenbrier is marked. Money was so scarce that the 
Greenbrier settlers could not pay their taxes, although 
willing to do so. They fell delinquent four years in suc- 
cession and to the amount of thirty thousand dollars. They 



56 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



were willing to perform labor, if arrangements could be 
made to do it. Virginia agreed to the proposition, and the 
people of Greenbrier built a road from Lewisburg to the 
Kanawha river in payment of their taxes. 

The chief incidents in West Virginia's history during* 
the revolutionary war were connected with the Indian 
troubles. The state was invaded three times by forces 
larg-e enough to be called armies; and the incursions by 
smaller parties were so numerous that the mere mention 
of them would form a list of murders, ambuscades and 
personal encounters of tedious and monotonous length. 
The first invasion occurred in 1777 when Fort Henry, now 
Wheeling, was attacked; the second, 1778, when Fort Ran- 
dolph, now Point Pleasant, was besieged for one week, the 
Indians moving- as far east as Greenbrier county, where 
Donnolly's fort was attacked; the third invasion was in 
1782, when Fort Henry was again attacked by Indians un- 
der the leadership of Simon Girty. The multitude of in- 
cursions b}~ Indians must be passed over briefly. The 
custom of the savages was to make their way into a settle- 
ment, and either lie in wait along paths and shoot those 
who attempted to pass, or break into houses and murder 
the inmates, or take them prisoner, and then make off 
hastily for the Ohio river. Once across that stream, pur- 
suit was not probable. 

The custom of the Indians to take prisoners, and their 
g-reat exertion to accomplish that purpose, is a difficult 
thing to explain. Prisoners were of little or no use to 
them. They did not make siaA-es of them. If they some- 
times received money as ransom for captives, the hope of 
ransom money seems seldom or never to have prompted 
them to carry prisoners to their towns. They sometimes 
showed a liking, if not affection, for capth'es adopted into 
their tribes and families; but this kindly feeling was shal- 
low and treacherous; and Indians would not hesitate to 
b*urn at the staie a captive who had been treated as one of 

4 



WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION. 65 

their family for months, if the}* should take it into their 
heads that revenge for injuries received from others called 
for a sacrifice. The ihdians 'followed no rule or precedent 
as to which of their captives they would kill and which 
carry to their towns. They sometimes killed children and 
spared adults, and sometimes the reverse. 

The year 1777 is called in border history the "bloody 
year of the three sevens. " The British sent against the 
frontiers every Indian who could be prevailed upon to go. 
Few settlements from New York to Florida escaped. In 
this state the most harm was done on the Monongahela 
and along- the Ohio in the vicing of Wheeling-. Monon- 
galia county was visited, twice by the savages that year, 
and a number of persons were killed. A party of twenty 
invaded what is now Randolph county, killed a number of 
settlers, took several prisoners and made their escape. It 
was on November 10 of this year that Cornstalk, the Shawr 
nee chief, was assassinated at Point Pleasant by militia- 
men who assembled there from Greenbrier and elsewhere 
for the purpose of marching against the Indian towns. 
Earlier in the year Cornstalk had. come to Fort Randolph, 
at Point Pleasant, on a visit, and also to inform the com- 
mandant of the fort that the British were inciting the In- 
dians to war, and that his own tribe, the Shawnees, would 
likely be swept along with the current, in spite of his 
efforts to keep them at home. Under these circumstances 
the commandant of the fort thought it best to detain Corn- 
stalk as a hostage to insure the neutrality of his tribe. It 
does not seem that the venerable chief was unwilling to re- 
main. He wanted peace. Some time after that his son 
came to see him, and crossed the Ohio, after making his 
presence known by hallooing from the other side. The 
next day two of the militiamen crossed the Ohio to hunt, 
and one was killed by an Indian. The other gave the 
alarm, and the militiamen crossed the river and brought 
in the body of the dead man. The soldiers believed that 



66 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



the Indian who had committed the deed had come the day 
before with Cornstalk's son, and had lain concealed until 
an opportunity occurred to kill a man. The soldiers 
were enraged, and started up the river bank toward the 
cabin where Cornstalk resided, announcing- that they 
would kill the Indians. There were with Cornstalk his 
son and another Indian, Red Eagle. A sister of Cornstalk, 
known as the Grenadier Squaw, had lived at the fort some- 
time as interpreter. She hastened to the cabin and urged 
her brother to make his escape. He might have done so, 
but refused, and admonished his son to die like a man. 
The soldiers arrived at that time and'fired. All three In- 
dians were killed. The leaders of the men who did it were 
afterwards given the semblance of a trial in Virginia, and 
were acquited. 

It is the opinion of those acquainted with border history 
that the murder of Cornstalk brought more suffering upon 
the West Virginia frontier than any other event of that time. 
Had he lived, he would perhaps have been able to hold the 
Shawnees in check. Without the cooperation of that blood- 
thirsty tribe the border war of the succeeding- years would 
have been different. Four years later Colonel Crawford, 
who had been taken prisoner, was put to death with ex- 
treme torture in revenge for the murder of Cornstalk. 

Fort Henry was besieged September 1, 1777, by four 
hundred Indians. General Hand, of Fort Pitt, had been 
informed that the Indians were preparing for an attack in 
large numbers upon some point of the frontier, and the 
settlements between Pittsburg and Point Pleasant were 
placed on their guard. Scouts were sent out to discover 
the advance of the Indians in time to give the alarm. But 
the scouts discovered no Indians. It is now known that 
the savages had advanced in small parties, avoiding trails, 
and had united near Wheeling, crossed the Ohio a short 
distance below that place, and on the night of the last day 
of August approached Fort Henry, and setting ambus- 



WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION. 67 



cades near it, waited for daylight. Fort Henry was made 
of logs set on end in the ground, in the manner of pickets, 
and about seventeen feet high. There were port holes 
through which to lire. The garrison consisted of less 
than forty men, the majority of whom lived in Wheeling 
and the immediate vicinity. Early in the morning of Sep- 
tember 1 the Indians decoyed Captain Samuel Mason with 
fourteen men into the field some distance from the fort, 
and killed all but three. Captain Mason alone reached the 
fort, and two of his men succeeded in hiding, and finally 
escaped. When the Indians attacked Mason's men, the 
firing* was heard at the fort, together with the yells of the 
savages. Captain Joseph Ogle with twelve men sallied out 
to assist Mason. He was surrounded and nine of his men 
were killed. There were only about a dozen men remain- 
ing in the fort to resist the attack of four hundred Indians, 
flushed with victory. There were perhaps one hundred 
women and children in the stockade. 

In a short time the Indians advanced against the fort, 
with drum and fife, and the British flag waving over them. 
It is not known who was leader. He was a white man, or 
at least there was a white man among them who seemed 
to be leader. Many old frontier histories, as well as the 
testimony of these who were present, united in the 
assertian that the Indians at this siege were led by Simon 
Girty. It is strange that this mistake could have been 
made, for it was a mistake. Simon Girty was not there- 
He was at that time, and for nearly five months afterwards, 
at Fort Pitt, serving in garrison duty, and did not desert 
till February, 1778, when with Elliott, McKee and two or 
three others, he ran away and proceeded at once to the 
Indian towns in Ohio where he soon became a leader of the 
savages. 

The commander of the Indian army posted himself in 
the window of a house within hearing of the fort, and read 
the proclamation of Governor Hamilton, of Detroit, offe 



68 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE; 



ing Great Britain's protection in case of surrender, but 
massacre it case of resistance. Colonel Shepherd, com- 
mandant of the fort, replied that the garrison would not 
surrender. The leader was insisting- upon the impossi- 
bility of holding- out, when his words were cut short by a 
shot fired at him from the fort. He was not struck. The 
Indians began the assault with a rush for the fort gate. 
They tried to break it open; and failing in this, they en- 
deavored to push the posts of the stockade down. They 
could make no impression on the wall. The fire of the 
garrison was deadly, and the savages recoiled. They 
charged again and again, some times trying to break down 
the walls with battering rams, attempting to set them on 
fire; and then sending their best marksman to pick off the 
garrison by shooting through the port holes. In course of 
time the deadly aim of those in the fort taught the savages 
a wholesome caution. Women fought as well as men. 
The battle raged two nights and two days; but all attempts 
of the Indians to burn the fort or break into it were un- 
availing. They killed many of the cattle about the settle- 
ment, partly for food, partly from wantonness. They 
burned nearly all the houses and barns in Wheeling. The 
savages were preparing for another assault when Colonel 
Andrew Swearengen with fourteen men landed near the 
fort and gained an entrance. Shortly afterwards Major 
Samuel McColloch at the head of forty men arrived, and after 
a severe fight, all reached the fort except McColloch who 
was cut off, but made his escape. The Indians now de- 
spaired of success, and raised the sieg*e. No person in 
the fort was killed. The loss of the Indians was estimated 
at forty or fifty. 

In September of this year, 1777, Captain William Fore- 
man, of Hampshire county, with about twenty men of that 
county, who had gone to Wheeling- to assist in fighting the 
savages, was ambushed and killed at Grave creek, below 



CI "WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION. 69 

Wheeling- by Indians supposed to have been a portion of 
those who had besieged Fort Henry. 

The next year, 1778, was one of intense excitement on 
I the frontier. An Indian force, of about two hundred, at- 
tacked Fort Randolph, at the mouth of the Kanawha, in 
May, and besieged the place one week. The enemy made 
several attempts to carry it by storm. But they were 
unsuccessful. They then moved off, up the Kanawha, in 
the direction of Greenbrier. Two soldiers from Fort 
Randolph eluded the savages; overtook them within twenty 
miles of the Greenbrier settlement; passed them that 
night, and alarmed the people just in time for them to flee 
to the blockhouses. Donnally's fort stood within two 
j miles of the present villag*e of Frankfort in Greenbrier 
county. Twenty men with their families took shelter 
there. At Lewisburg, ten miles distant, perhaps one 
hundred men had assembled with their families. The 
Indians apparently knew which was the weaker fort, and 
according-iy proceeded against Donnally's upon which they 
made an attack at daybreak. One of the men had gone 
out for kindling wood and had left the gate open. The 
Indians killed this man, and made a rush for the fort, and 
crowded into the yard. While some c rawled under the 
floor, hoping to gain an entrance by that means, others 
climbed to the roof. Still others beg-an hewing- the door 
which had been hurriedly closed. All the men in the fort 
were asleep, except one white man and a negro slave. As 
the savages were forcing open the door, the formost was 
' killed with a tomahawk by the white man, and the negro 
discharged a musket loaded with heavy shot into the faces 
of the Indians. The men in the fort were aw r akened and 
'fired through the port holes. Seventeen savages were 
killed in the yard. The others fell back, and contented 
themselves with firing at longer rage. In the afternoon 
sixty six men arrived from Lewisburg, and the Indians 
were forced to raise the siege. Their expedition to Green- 



70 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



brier had been a more signal failure than the attempt on 
Fort Randolph. 

The country along- the Monongufoela was invaded three 
times in the year 1778, and once the following- year. Few 
settlements within one hundred miles of the Ohio river es- 
caped. In 1780 Greenbrier was ag-ain paid a visit bv the 
savag-es; and in this year their raids extended eastward, 
into Randolph county, and to Cheat river in Tucker 
county, to the very base of the Alleghany mountains. The 
Monong-ahela valley, as usual, did not escape, and ten set- 
tlers were killed. Governor Hamilton of Detroit, known 
as the "hair buyer." had encourag-ed the Indians by pay- 
ing- as high as thirty dollars bounty for scalps of men, 
women and children, but no bounty for prisoners. The 
savag-es killed their prisoners in larg-e numbers for the 
bounty on scalps. This made the war terrible in its fierce- 
ness. In 1778 and 1779 General Rog-er Clarke, at the head 
of a small but excellent army, mostly Virginians, carried 
the war into the enemy's country, and struck at British 
forts in Illinois and Indiana, believing- that if the British 
were driven out of that country, Indians would have more 
difficulty in obtaining- arms, ammunition and supplies, and 
their raids on the settlements would be less frequent. 
Kaskaskia and Cahokia, in Illinois, were captured, and 
then, after a. memorable march in midwinter, Clarke fell 
upon Vincennes, Indiana, and after a severe ng-ht captured 
the place, released nearly one hundred white prisoners, 
chastised the Indians, captured stores worth fifty thousand 
dollars, cleared the whole country of British from the 
Mississippi to Detroit; and, most important of all. captured 
Governor Hamilton himself, and sent him in chains to 
Richmond. This victory secured to the United States the 
country as far as the Mississippi; and it greatly dampened 
the ardor of the Indians. They saw for the first time that 
the British were notable to protect them. 

In 1731 Colonel David Broadhead crossed the Ohio at 



"WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION. 71 



Wheeling- with eight hundred men; and, after a rapid 
march to the Miami, destroyed Indian villages and inflicted 
severe punishment upon the savages. The year 1782 is 
memorable on the border on account of the massacre of 
the Moravian Indians in Ohio, and the second siege of Fort 
Henry at Wheeling. The Moravian Indians, or Christian- 
ized Indians, with their missionaries, lived at peace with 
the white people; but it was suspected that they harbored 
hostile savages who harrassed the frontiers. An expedi- 
tion was sent against them; their towns were destroyed, 
and a revolting massacre almost exterminated the unfor- 
tunate people. The occurrence forms a dark page of 
border history. 

The second siege of Fort Henry occurred in September, 

. 1782. There were fewer than twenty men in the fort 
when the Indians appeared. The commandant, Captain 
Boggs, had g-one to warn the neighboring settlements of 
danger. The Indians numbered several hundred, under 
command, as is said, of Simon Girty. In addition, there 
was a company of British soldiers commanded by Captain 
Pratt; and the whole force marched under the British flag, 
and appeared before the fort September 11. Just before 
the attack commenced, a boat, in charge of a man named 
Sullivan, arrived from Pittsburg-, loaded with cannon balls 
for the garrison at Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Sullivan 
aud his party seeing 'the danger, tied the boat and made 

■ their way to the fort and assisted in the defense. The be- 
siegers demanded an immediate surrender, which was de- 
clined. The attack was delayed till night. The experience 
gained by the Indians in the war had taught them that little 
is gained by a wild rush against the walls of a stockade. 
No doubt Captain Pratt advised them also what course to 
pursue. When night came they made their assault. 

J More than twenty times did they pile hemp against the 
walls of the fort and attempt to set the structure on fire. 
But the hemp was damp and burned slowly. No harm 



72 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



"was done. Colonel pane's cabin stood near the stockade. 
His house had been burned at the siege in 1777; and when 
the Indians again appeared he resolved to defend it. He 
remained in the cabin with two or three others, among* 
them a negro slave. That night an Indian crawled up 
with a chunk of fire to burn the house, but a shot from the 
negro's gun crippled him and he gave up his incendiary 
project. Attempts were made to break down the gates, 
but they did not succeed. A small cannon mounted on 
one of the bastions was occasionally discharged among- the 
savages, much to their discomfiture. On one occasion 
when a number of Indians had gathered in a loft of one of 
the nearest cabins and were dancing- and yelling- in defiance 
of the garrison, the cannon was turned on them, and a 
solid shot cutting- one of the joists, precipitated the sav- 
ages to the floor beneath and put a stop to their revelry. 

The Indians captured the boat with the cannon balls, and 
decided to use them. . The procured a hollow log*, plug-g*ed 
one end, and wrapped it with chains stolen from a neigh- 
boring- blacksmith shop. They loaded the piece with 
powder and ball, and fired it at the fort. It is to be won- 
dered at that the British officer would have permitted his 
allies to make such a blunder, for he must have known that 
the wooden cannon would burst. Its pieces flew in all di- 
rections, killing and maiming several Indians, but did not 
harm the fort. The savages were discouraged, and when 
a force of seventy men, under Captain Boggs, approached, 
the Indians fled. They did not, however, leave the coun- 
try at once, but made an attack on Rice's fort, where they 
lost four warriors and accomplished nothing. 

The siege of Fort Henry is remarkable from the fact 
that the flag under which the arm}' marched to the attack, 
and which was shot down during the fight, was the last 
British flag to float over an army in battle, during the rev- 
olution, within the limits of the United States. West Vir- 
ginia was never again invaded by a large Indian force, but 



WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION. 73 



small parties continued to make incursions till 1795. The 
war with Engiand closed by a treaty of peace in 1783. 
After that date the Indians foug'ht on their own account, 
althoug-h the British still held posts in the northwest, 
under the excuse that the Americans had not complied with 
the terms of the treaty of peace. It was believed, and not 
without evidence, that the savages were still encourag*ed 
by the British, if not directly supplied with arms, to wage 
war against the frontiers. The United States government 
took vigorous measures to suppress the Indian depreda- 
tions, and bring- the savages to terms. General Harmar 
invaded the countiw north of the Ohio at the head of a 
strong - force in 1790. He suffered his army to be divided 
and defeated. The next year General St. Clair led an 
army into the Indian country, and met with one of the most 
disastrous defeats in the annals of Indian warfare. He lost 
nearly eight hundred men in one battle. General Wayne 
now took charge of the campaign in the Indian country, 
and in 1794 gave battle to the Indians on the Mauniee river 
near the Ohio and Indiana line, at a place called Fallen 
Timber, and utterly crushed the Indian confederacy. The 
savages never recovered from that defeat, and the frontiers 
were not again molested for nearly twenty years, and West 
Virginia was never again invaded by Indians, 



CHAPTER VI, 



»o« 

COUNTIES AND BOUNDARIES OF THE STATE 

West Virginia's boundaries coincide, in part, with the 
boundaries of five other states, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Mary- 
land, Virginia and Kentucky. Some of these lines are as- 
sociated with events of considerable historical interest, 
and for a number of years were subjects of controversy, 
*iot always friendly. It is understood, of course, that all 
boundary lines of the territory now embraced in West 
Virginia, except the line between this state and Virginia, 
were agreed to and settled before West Virginia became 
i separate state. That is, .the lines between this state 
md Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky and Ohio were all 
settled more than one hundred years ago. To speak 
briefly of each, the line separating West Virginia from 
Dhio may be taken first. 

.At the time the Articles of Confederation were under 
iiscussion in congress, 1778, Virginia's territory extended 
vvestward to the Mississippi river. The government of 
:he United States never recognized the Quebec Act, which 
,vas passed by the English parliament before the Revolu- 
tionary war, and which extended the province of Quebec 
>outh to the Ohio river. Consequently, after the Declara- 
\on of Independence was signed, Virginia's claim to that 
territory was not disputed by the other colonies; but when 
he time came for agreeing to the Articles of Confedera- 
ion which bound the states together in one common 
:ountry, objection was raised to Virginia's extensive ter- 
ritory, which was nearly as large as all the other states to- 
gether. The fear was expressed that Virginia would be- 



COUNTIES AND BOUNDARIES OF THE STATE. 75 



come so powerful and wealthy, on account of its extent, 
that it would possess and exercise an influence in the 
affairs of g-overnment too great for the well being- of the 
other states. 

Maryland appears to have been the first state to take a 
decided stand that Virginia should cede its territory north 
and west of the Ohio to the general government. It was 
urged in justification of this course that the territory had 
been conquered from the British and the Indians by the 
blood and treasure of the whole country, and that it was 
right that the vacant lands should be appropriated to the 
use of the citizens of the whole country. Maryland took 
this stand June 22, 1778. Virg-inia refused to consent to 
the ceding- of her western territory; and from that time 
till February 2, 1781, Maryland refused to agree to the Ar- 
ticles of Confederation, On November 2, 1778, New Jer- 
sey formally filed an objection to Virginia's larg-e territory; 
but the New Jersey deleg-ates finally signed the Articles 
of Confederation, expressing at the same time the convic- 
tion that justice would in time remove the inequality in 
territories as far as possible. On February 22, 1779, 
the delagates from Delaware signed, but also remonstrated, 
and presented resolutions setting forth that the United 
Stat 2s congress ought to have power to fix the western limits 
of any state claiming- territory to the Mississippi or be- 
yond. On May 21, 1779; the delegates from Maryland laid 
before congress instructions received by them from the 
g-eneral assembly of Maryland. The point aimed at in 
these instructions was that those states having- almost 
boundless western territory had it in their power to sell 
lands at a very low price, thus filling their treasuries with 
mone3^, thereby lessening- taxation; and at the same time 
the cheap lands and the low taxes would draw away from ad- 
joining- states many of the best inhabitants. Congress was, 
therefore, asked to use its influence with those states having- 
•extensive territory, to the end that they would not place 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



heir lands on the market until the close of the Revolution- 
ary war. Virginia was not mentioned by name, but it 
Fas well known that reference was made to that state, 
"ongress passed, October 30, 1779, a resolution requesting 
Virginia not to open a land office till the close of the war. 
)n March 7, 1780, the delegates from New York an- 
lounced that state ready to give up its western territory; 
nd this was formally done on March 1, 1781. New York 
laving- thus opened the way, other states followed the ex- 
ample and ceded to the United States their western terri- 
lories or claims as follows: Virg-inia, March 1, 1784; 
Massachusetts, April 19, 1785; Connecticut, September 
c4, 1786; South Carolina, Aug- List 9, 1787; North Carolina, 
'^ebrury 25, 1790; Georgia, April 24, 1802. 
\ Within less than two months after Virg-inia ceded her 
^orthwest territory to the United States, congress passed 
m ordinance for the government of the territory. The 
need of cession was made b}^ Thomas Jefferson, Arthur 
3>ee, Samuel Hardy and James Monroe, delegates in con- 
gress from Virginia. The boundary line between Vir- 
ginia and the territory ceded to the general government 
C^as the northwest bank of the Ohio river at low water, 
^he islands in the stream belonged to Virginia. When 
^Vest Virginia became a separate state, the boundary re- 
gained unchanged. 

: The line between West Virginia and Kentucky remains 
•he same as that formely separating Virginia from Ken- 
"icky. The general assembly of Virginia, December 18, 
789, passed an act authorizing a convention to be held in 
ae district of Kentucky to consider whether it was 
Expedient to form that district into a separate state. The 
onvention decided to form a state, and Kentucky was ad- 
mitted into the union in 1792. Commissioners were ap- 
pointed to adjust the boundary line between Virginia and 
Kentucky, and agreed that the line separating the two 
Sates should remain the same as that formerly separating 



BOUNDARIES AND COUNTIES OF THE STATE. 77 



Virginia from the district of Kentucky. The line is as 
follows so far as West Virginia and Kentucky are con- 
tiguous: Beginning- at the northwestern point of Mc- 
Dowell count}^, thence down Big- Sandy river to its con- 
fluence with the Ohio. 

The line dividing- the northern limits of West Virginia, 
from the southern limits of Pennsylvania was for many 
years a matter of dispute. Maryland and Pennsylvania 
had nearly a century of bickering- concerning- the matter 
before Virginia took it up in earnest.- It is not necessary 
at this time to give the details of the controversy. A few 
facts will suffice. Pennsylvania and Maryland having- 
contended for a long- time over their common boundary 
line, two eminent astronomers, Charles Mason and 
Jeremiah Dixon, of England, were employed to mark a 
line five degrees west from the Delaware river at a point 
where it is crossed by the parallel of north latitude 39 
degrees, 43 minutes, 25 seconds. Thev commenced work 
in the latter part of 1763, and. completed it in the latter 
part of 1767. This line called Mason and Dixon's line, 
was accepted as the boundary between Pennsylvania and 
Maryland, and the controversy was at an. end. But 
beyond the west line of Maryland, where Virginia's and 
Pennsylvania's possessions came in contact, a bitter 
dispute arose, almost leading- to open hostilities between 
the people of the two states. Virginia wanted Pittsburg-, 
and boldly and stubbornly set up a claim to the territory, 
at least as far north as the fortieth degree of latitude. 
This would have given Virginia part of Fayette and 
Greene counties, Pennsylvania. On the other hand, 
Pennsylvania claimed the country south to the thirty 
ninth degree, which would have extended its jurisdiction 
over the present territory of West Virginia, included in 
the counties of Monongalia, Preston, Marion, Taylor, 
parts of Tucker, Barbour, Upshur, Lewis, Harrison, 
Wetzel and Randolph. The territory in dispute was 



78 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



about four times as large as the state of Rhode Island. It 
was finally settled by a compromise. It was agreed 
that Mason and Dixon's line be extended west five 
degrees from the Delaware river. The commissioners- 
appointed to adjust the boundary were Dr. James Madi- 
son and Robert Andrews on the part of Virginia, and 
David Ritenhouse, John Ewing and George Bryan on the 
part of Pennsylvania. They met at Baltimore in 1779 and 
agreed on a line. The next year the agreement was rati- 
fied, by Virginia in June and Pennsylvania in September. 
A line was then run due north from the western end of 
Mason and Dixon's line, till it reached the Ohio river. 
This completed the boundary lines between Virginia and 
Pennsylvania; and West Virginia's territory is bounded 
by the same lines. 

The fixing of the boundary between Virginia and Mary- 
land was long a subject of controversy. It began in the 
early years of the colony, long before the Revolutionary 
war, and has continued, it may be said, almost till the 
present day, for occasionally the agitation is revived. 
West Virginia inherited most of the subject of dispute 
when it set up a separate government. The controversy 
began so early in the history of the country, when the geog- 
raphy of what is now West Virginia was so imperfectly 
understood, that boundaries were stated in general terms, 
following certain rivers; and in after time these general 
terms were differently understood. Nearly two hundred 
years ago the Potomac river was designated as the dividing 
line between lands granted by Maryland and lands granted 
by Virginia; but at that time the upper tributaries of that 
river had never been explored, and as no one knew what 
was the main stream and what were tributary streams, 
Lord Fairfax had the stream explored, and the explorers 
decided that the main river had its source at a point where 
the Fairfax stone was planted, the present corner of 
Tucker, Preston and Grant counties, in West Virginia. 



BOUNDARIES AND COUNTIES OF THE STATE. 79' 



It also was claimed as the southwestern corner of Mary- 
land. It has so remained to this day, but not without much 
controversy on the part of Maryland. 

The claim was set up by Maryland, in 1830, that the 
stream known as the South branch of the Potomac is the 
main Potomac river, and that all territory north of that 
stream and south of Pennsylvania, belonged to Maryland. 
A line drawn due north from the source of the South 
branch to the Pennsylvania line was to be the western 
boundary of Maryland. Had that state succeeded in 
establishing- its claim and extending* its jurisdiction, the 
following- territory would have been transferrd to Mary- 
land: Part of Hig-hland county, Virginia; portions of Ran- 
dolph, Tucker, Preston, Pendleton, Hardy, Grant, Hamp- 
shire and all of Mineral counties, West Virginia. The 
claim of Maryland was resisted, and Governor Floyd, of 
Virginia, appointed Charles J. Faulkner, of Martinsburg-, 
to investigate the whole matter, and ascertain, if possible, 
which was the main Potomac, and to consult all available 
early authorities on the subject. Mr. Faulkner filed his 
report November 6, 1832, and in this report he showed 
that the South branch was not the main Potomac, and that 
the line as fixed by Eord Fairfax's surveyors remained the 
true and proper boundary between Virginia and Maryland. 
The line due north from the Fairfax stone to the Pennsyl- 
vania line remains the boundary in that quarter between 
West Virginia and Maryland, but the latter state is still 
disputing it. 

When W est Virginia separated from Virginia and took 
steps to set up a government for itself, it was at one time 
proposed to call the state Kanawha; and its eastern bound- 
ary was indicated so as to exclude some of the best coun- 
ties now in the state. The counties to be excluded were 
Mercer, Greenbrier, Monroe, Pocahontas, Pendleton, 
Hardy, then including Grant; Hampshire, then including 
Mineral; Morgan, Berkeley and Jefferson. It was pro- 



80 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



vided that .any adjoining* county of Virginia on the east: 
might become a part of the state of West Virginia when- 
ever a majority of the people of the county expressed a 
willingness to enter the new state. But, before the state 
was admitted the boundary line was changed and was as 
follows: Beginning at the Tug fork of the Big Sandy river 
at the western corner of Wyoming county, thence follow- 
ing the dividing line between McDowell and Buchanan 
and Tazewell counties to Mercer, thence along* the south- 
ern line of Mercer to Monroe, along the southern line of 
Monroe to Greenbrier, thence following the crest of the 
Alleghanies on the eastern boundaries of Greenbrier and 
Pocahontas to the corner of Pendleton, thence following" 
the southern and eastern lines of Pendleton and Hardy,, 
along the southern and eastern boundary of Hardy to 
Hampshire, along Hampshire's eastern line to Morg-an, 
thence following the southwestern boundaries of Morgan, 
Berkeley and Jefferson to the Loudoun county line, thence- 
following the Loudoun and Jefferson county lines to the 
Potomac river. 



COUNTIES OF THE STATE 

As is well known, the territory which now forms West 
Virginia was a portion of Virginia from the first explora- 
tions of the country until separated from that state during 
the civil war, in 1863. For a quarter of a century after the 
first settlement was planted in Virginia there were no 
counties; but as the country began to be explored, and 
when the original settlement at Jamestown grew, and 
others were made, it was deemed expedient to divide the 
state into counties, although the entire population at that 
time was scarcely enougii for one respectable county. Ac- 
cordingly, Virginia was divided into eight counties in 1634. 
The western limits were not clearly defined, except that 
Virginia claimed the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
and it was no doubt intended that the counties on the west 
should embrace all her territory in that direction. The 
country beyond the Blue Ridge was unexplored, and only 
the vaguest ideas existed concerning it. There was a pre- 
vailing belief that beyond the Blue Ridge the country 
sloped to the Pacific, and that a river would be found with 
its source in the Blue Ridge and its mouth in that ocean. 

The eastern portion of West Virginia, lying along the 
Potomac and its tributaries, was no long'er an unbroken 
wilderness, but settlements existed in several places. In 
1738 it was urged that there were people enough in the 
territory to warrant the formation of a new county. Ac- 
cordingly, that portion of Orange west of the Blue Ridge 
was formed into two counties, Augusta and Frederick. 
Thus Orange county no longer embraced any portion of 
the territory now in this state. Frederick county em- 
braced the lower, or northern part of the Shenandoah val- 
ley, with Winchester as the county seat, and Augusta the 
southern, or upper valley, with Staunton as the seat of jus- 
tice. Augusta then included almost all of West Virginia, 



82 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



and extended to the Mississippi river, including- Ohio, Ken- 
tucky, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. From its territory 
all the counties of West Virginia, except Jefferson, Berke- 
ley and part of Morgan, have been formed, and its subdi- 
vision into the counties will be the subject of this chapter. 
No part of West Virg-inia retains the name of Aug-usta, but 
the county still exists in Virg-inia, part of the orig-inal 
county of that name, and its county seat is the same as at 
fir s t— Staunto n . 

In 1769 Botetourt county was formed from Aug-usta and 
included the territory now embraced in McDowell, Wyom- 
ing-, Mercer, Monroe, Raleig-h and portions of Greenbrier, 
Boone and Log-an. No county in West Virg-inia now has 
the name Botetourt. It is thus seen that no one of the 
first counties in the territory of West Virg-inia retains 
any name in it. Spotsylvania, Orang-e, Aug-usta and 
Botetourt, each in its turn, embraced larg-e parts of the 
state, but all the territory remaining- under the orig-inal 
names is found in old Virg-inia, where the names are pre- 
served. There was another county formed within the 
limits of West Virg-inia which has been sub-divided until 
none of it exists under the orig-inal name. This was 
West Aug-usta. It was called a district, but it seems to 
have been as much a county as some of the others althoug-h 
the matter never was fully settled, as to just what West 
Aug-usta was. It was formed in 1776 and included the 
following- territory: Wetzel, Marshall, Ohio, Brooke, 
Hancock counties, parts of Randolph, Tucker, Taylor, 
Preston, Marion, Monong-alia, Harrison, Doddridge, Tyler, 
and all of Washington and Greene counties Pennsylvania, 
and parts of Alleghany and Beaver counties. Following 
are the counties of West Virginia. 

Hampshire. Area 630 square miles; formed 1754 from 
Augusta; county seat Romney; population in 1790, 7,346; 
in 1800, 8,348; in 1810, 9,784; in 1820, 10,889; in 1830, 11,279; 
in 1840, 12,295; in 1850, 14,036; in 1860, 13,913; in 1870, 



COUNTIES AND BOUNDARIES OF THE STATE. 83 



7,613; in 1880, 10,336; in 1890, 11,419; settled about 1730. 

Berkeley. Area 320 square miles; county seat Mar- 
tinsburg; formed 1772 from Frederick; population 1790, 
19,713; in 1800, 22,006; in 1810, 11,479; in 1820, 11,211; in 
1830, 10,518; in 1840, 10,972; in 1850, 11,771; in 1860, 12,525; 
in 1870, 14,900; in 1880, 17,380; in 1890, 18,702; settled about 
1730. 

Monongalia. Area 360 square miles; county seat 
Morgantown; formed from West Augusta 1776; population 
1790, 4,768; in 1800, 8,540; in 1810, 12,793; in 1820, 11,060; in 
1830, 14,056; in 1840, 17,368; in 1850, 12,357; in 1860, 13,048; 
in 1870, 13,547; in 1880, 14,985; in 1890, 15,705, settled 
about 1758. 

Ohio. Area 120 square miles; county seat Wheeling; 
formed in 1776 from West Augusta; population 1790, 5,212; 
in 1800, 4,740; in 1810, 8,175; in 1820, 9,182; in 1830, 15,584; 
in 1840, 13,357; in 1850, 18,006; in 1860, 22,422; in 1870, 28,- 
831; in 1880, 37,457; in 1890, 41,557; settled about 1770. 

Greenbrier. Area 1,000 square miles; formed 1777 from 
Botetourt; county seat Lewisburg; settled about 1750; 
population in 1790, 6,015; in 1800, 4,345; in 1810, 5,914; in 
1820, 7,041; in 1830, 9,006; in 1840, 8,695; in 1850, 10,022, in 
1860, 12,211; in 1870, 11,417; in 1880, 15,060; in 1890, 18,034. 

Harrison. Area 450 square miles; county seat Clarks- 
burg; formed 1784 from Monong-alia; settled about 1770; 
population in 1790, 2,080; in 1800, 4,848; in 1810, 9,958, in 
1820, 10,932; in 1830, 14,722; in 1840, 17,669; in 1850, 11,728; 
in 1860, 13,790; in 1870, 16,714, in 1880, 20,181; in 1890, 21,- 
919. 

Hardy. Area 700 square miles; county seat Moorefield; 
formed in 1785 from Hampshire; settled about 1740; popula- 
tion in 1790, 7,336; in 1800, 6,627; in 1810, 5,525; in 1820, 
I 5,700; in 1830, 6,798; in 1840, 7,622; in 1850, 9,543; in 1860, 
\ 9,864; in 1870, 5,518; in 1880, 6,794; in 1890, 7,567. 

Randolph. Area 1,080 square miles, the largest county 
in the state; county seat Beverly; formed in 1786 from 



'84 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Harrison; settled about 1754: population in 1790. 951. in 
1800, 1,826; in 1810. 2,854; in 1829. 3,357; in 1830, 5,000; m 
1840, 6,208; in 1850, 5,243; in 1860. 4,990; in 1870. 5.563; in 
1880, 8,102; in 1890. 11,633. 

Pendleton. Area 650 square miles; county seat Frank- 
lin; formed in 1787 from Aug-usta, Hardy and Rocking- 
ham; settled about 1750; population in 1790, 2,452; in 1800, 
3,962; in 1810, 4.239; in 1820, 4.846; in 1S30. 6.271; in 1840, 
6,940; in 1850, 5,797; in 1860. 6.164; in 1870. 6.455; in 1880, 
8,022; in 1890, 8,711. 

Kanawha. Area 980 square miles; county seat Charles- 
ton; formed in 1789 from Greenbrier and Montgomery; 
settled about 1774; population in 1800, 3,239; in 1810, 3,866; 
in 1820, 6,399; in 1830, 9,326; in 1840, 13.567; in 1850, 15.- 
353; in 1860, 16,150; 1870,22.349; 1880.32.466; 1890.42,756. 

Brooke. Area 80 square miles, the smallest county in 
the state; formed in 1796 from Ohio; county seat Wells- 
burg-; population in 1800, 4,706; in 1810, 5.843; in 1820, 
6,631; in 1830, 7.041; in 1840, 7.948; in 1850, 5,054; in 1860, 
5,494; in 1870, 5,464; in 1880. 6,013; in 1890, 6,660; settled 
about 1772. 

Wood. Area 375; county seat Parkersburg-; formed in 
1798 from Harrison; settled about 1773; population in 1800, 
1,217; in 1810, 3,036; in 1820, 5,860; in 1830, 6,429; in 1S40, 
7,923; in 1850, 9,450; in I860, 11,046; in 1S70, 19,000; in 
1880, 25,006; in 1890, 28,612. 

Monroe. Area 460 Square miles; county seat Union; 
settled about 1760; formed in 1799 from Greenbrier; pop- 
ulation in 1800, 4,188; in 1810, 5,444; in 1820, 6,580; in 1830, 
7,798; in 1840, 8,422; in 1850, 10,204; in 1860, 10,757; in 
1870, 11,124; in 1880, 11.501; in 1890, 12.429. ' 

Jefferson. Area 250 square miles; formed 1801 from 
Berkeley; county seat, Charlestown; settled about 1730; 
population in 1810, 11,851; in 1820, 13,087; in 1830, 12,927; 
in 1840, 14,082; in 1850, 15,357; in 1860, 14,535; in 1870, 
13,219; in 1880, 15,005; in 1890, 15,553. 

6 



COUNTIES AND BOUNDARIES OF THE STATE. 85 



Mason. Area 430 square miles; county seat Point 
Pleasant; settled about 1774; formed in 1804 from Kana- 
wha; population in 1810, 1,991; in 1820, 4,868; in 1830, 
6,534; in 1840, 6,777; in 1850, 7,539; in 1860, 9,173, in 1870, 
15,978; in 1880,22,296; in 1890, 22,863. 

Cabell. Area 300 square miles; county seat Hunting- 
ton; settled about 1790; formed in 1809 from Kanawha; 
population in 1810, 2,717; in 1820, 4,789; in 1830, 5,884; in 
1840, 8,163; in 1850, 6,299; in 1860, 8,020; in 1870. 6,429; in 
1880, 13,744; in 1890, 23,598. 

Tyler. Area 300 square miles; county seat Middle- 
bourne; settled about 1776; formed in 1814 from Ohio 
county; population 'in 1820, 2,314; in 1830, 4,104; in 1840, 
6,954; in 1850, 5,498; in 1860, 6,517; in 1870, 7,832; in 1880, 
11,073; in 1890, 11,962. 

Lewis. Area, 400 square miles, county seat Weston; 
formed in 1816 from Harrison; population in 1820, 4,247; in 
1830, 6,241; in 1840, 8,151; in 1850, 10,031 in 1860, 7,999; in 
1870, 10,175; in 1880, 13,269; in 1890, 15,895. Settled prior 
to 1784. 

Nicholas. Area 720 square miles; county seat Sum- 
mersyille; formed in 1818 from Kanawha, Greenbrier and 
Randolph; population in 1820, 1,853,-in 1830, 3,346; in 1840, 
2,255; in 1850, 3,963; in 1860, 4,627; in 1870, 4,458; in 1880, 
7,223; in 1890, 9,307. 

Preston. Are 650 square miles; county seat King-wood; 
formed 1818 from Monong-alia; population in 1820, 3,422; 
in 1830, 5,144; in 1840, 6,866; in 1850, 11,708; in 1860, 13,- 
312; in 1870, 14,555; in 1880; 19,091; in 1890, 20,335. 

Morgan. Area, 300 square miles; county seat, Berkeley 
Spring-s; formed in 1820 from Hampshire and Berkeley; 
population in 1820, 2,500; in 1830, 2,694; in 1840, 4,253; in 
1850, 3,557; in 1860, 3,732; in 1870, 4,315; in 1880, 5,777; in 
1890, 6,774. 

Pocahontas. Area 820 square miles; county seat Hun- 
tersville; settled about 1749; formed 1821 from Bath, 



86 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Pendleton and Randolph; population in 1830, 2,542; in 1840, 
2,922; in 1850, 3,598; in 1860. 3,958; in 1870. 4,069, in 1880, 
5,591: in 1890, 6,814. 

Logan. Area about 400 square miles; county seat 
Lownsville; formed in 1824 from Kanawha, Giles. Cabell 
and Tazewell; population in 1S30. 3,680, in 1840, 4,309, in 
1850, 3,620; in 1860, 4,933; in 1870. 5.124: in 18S0. 7,329; in 
1890, 11,101. 

Jackson. Area 400 square miles; county seat Ripley; 
settled about 1796; formed in 1831; population in 1840, 
4,890; in 1S50, 6.544; in 1860, 8,306; in 1870. 10,300; in 1880, 
16,312; in 1890, 19,021. 

Fayette. Area 750 square miles; county seat Fayette- 
yille; formed in 1831 from L/Og*an, Kanawha. Greenbrier 
and Nicholas; population in 1840, 3,924; in 1850, 3,955; in 
1860, 5.997; in 1870, 6,647: in 1880, 11,560; in 1890, 20,542. 

Marshall. Area 240 square miles; county seat Mounds- 
ville; settled about 1769; formed in 1835 from Ohio; popula- 
tion in 1840, 6,937; in 1850, 10,138; in 1860, 12,937; in 187", 
14,941; in 1880, 18,840; in 1890, 20,735. 

Braxton. Area 620 square miles; county seat Sutton; 
settled prior to 1796; formed 1836, from Kanawha, Lewis 
and Nicholas; population in 1840, 2,575; in 1850, 4,212; in 
1860, 4,992; in 1870, 6,480, in 1880, 9,787; in 1890. 13,928. 

Mercer. Area 400 square miles; county seat Princeton; 
formed in 1837 from Giles and Tazewell: population in 
1840, 2,233; in 1850; 4,222; in I860, 6.819; in 1870, 7,064; in 
1880, 7,467; in 1890. 16,002. 

Marion. Area 300 square miles; county seat Fairmont; 
formed in 1842 from Harrison and Monong-alia; population 
in 1850, 10,552; in 1860, 12.722; in 1870, 12,107; in 1880. 17.- 
198; in 1890, 20,721. 

Wayne. Area 440 square miles; county seat Trout's 
hill; settled about 1796; formed in 1S41 from Cabell; popula- 
tion in 1850, 4,760; in 1860, 6,747; in 1870, 7.852: in 1880. 14.- 
739; in 1890, 18,652. 



COUNTIES AND BOUNDARIES OF THE STATE. 87 



Taylor. Area 150 square miles; county seat Grafton; 
formed in 1844 from Harrison, Barbour and Marion; 
population in 1850, 5,367; in 1860, 8,463; in 1870, 9,367; in 
1880, 11,455; in 1890, 12,147. 

Doddridge. Area 300 square miles; county seat West 
Union; formed in 1845 from Harrison, Tyler, Ritchie and 
Lewis; population in 1850, 2,750; in 1860, 5,203; in 1870, 
7,076; in 1830, 10,552; in 1890, 12,183. 

Gilmer. Area 360 square miles; county seat Glenville; 
formed in 1845 from Kanawha and Lewis; population in 
1850, 3,475; in 1860, 3,759; in 1870, 4,338; in 1880, 7,108; in 
1890, 9,746. 

Wetzel. Area 440 square miles; county seat New 
Martinsville; formed in 1846 from Tyler; population in 
1850, 4,284; in 1860, 6,703, in 1870, 8,559; in 1880, 13,896, in 
1890, 16,841. 

Boone. Area 500 square miles; county seat Madison; 
formed in 1847 from Kanawha, Cabell and Log'an; popula- 
tion in 1850, 3,237; in 1860, 4,840; in 1870, 4,553; in 1880, 
5,824; in 1890, 6,885. 

Putnam. Area 320 square miles; county seat Winfield; 
settled 1775; formed in 1848 from Kanawha, Cabell and 
Mason; population in 1850, 5,335; in 1860, 6,301; in 1870, 
7,794; in 1880, 11,375, in 1890, 14,342. 

Barbour. Area 360 square miles; county seat Philippi; 
formed in 1843 from Harrison, Lewis and Randolph, popu- 
lation in 1850, 9,005; in 1860, 8,958; in 1870, 10,312; in 1880, 
11,870; in 1890, 12,702. 

Ritchie, Area 400 square miles; county seat Harris ville; 
formed in 1844 from Harrison, Lewis and Wood; popula- 
tion in 1850, 3,902; in 1860, 6,847; in 1870, 9,055; in 1880, 
13,474; in 1890, 16,621. 

Wirt. Area 290 square miles; county seat Elizabeth; 
settled about 1796; formed in 1848 from Wood and Jack- 
son; population in 1850, 3,353; in 1860, 3,751; in 1870, 4,804; 
in 1880, 7,104; in 1890, 9,411. 



88 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Hancock. Area 100 square miles; county seat .New 
Cumberland; settled about 1776; formed in 1848 from 
Brooke; population in 1850, 4,050; in 1860, 4,445; in 1870, 
4,363; in 1880, 4,882; in 1890, 6,414. 

Raleigh, Area 680 square miles; county seat Beckley- 
ville; formed in 1850 from Fayette; population in 1850, 
1,765; in 1860, 3,367; in 1870, 3,673; in 1880, 7,367; in 1890, 
9,597. 

Wyoming. Area 660 square miles; county seat Oceana; 
formed in 1850 from Logan; population in 1850, 1,645; in 
1860, 2,861; in 1870, 3,171; in 1880, 4,322; in 1890, 6,247. 

Pleasants. Area 150 square miles; county seat St. 
Mary's; formed in 1851 from Wood, Tyler and Ritchie; 
population in 1860, 2,945; in 1870, 3,012; in 1880, 6,256; in 
1890, 7,539. 

Upshur. Area 350 square miles; county seat Buckhan- 
non; formed in 1851 from Randolph, Barbour and Lewis, 
settled about 1775; population in 1860, 7,292; in 1870, 8,023, 
in 1880, 10,249; in 1890, 12,714. 

Calhoun. Area 260 square miles; county seat Grants- 
ville; formed in 1856 from Gilmer; population in 1860, 
2,502; in 1870, 2,930; in 1880, 6,072; in 1890, 8,155. 

Roane. Area 350 square miles; county seat Spencer; 
settled about 1791; formed in 1856 from Kanawha, Jack- 
son and Gilmer; population in 1860, 5,381; in 1870, 7,232; in 
1880, 12,184; in 1890, 15,303. 

Tucker. Area 340 square miles; county seat Parsons; 
settled about 1774; formed in 1856 from Randolph; popu- 
lation in 1860, 1,428; in 1870, 1,907; in 1880, 3,151; in 1890, 
6,459. 

Clay. Area 390 square miles; county seat Clay Court 
House; formed in 1858 from Braxton and Nicholas; popula- 
tion in 1860, 1,787; in 1870, 2,196; in 1880, 3,460; in 1890, 
4,659. 

McDowell. Area 860 square miles; county seat 
Perry sville; formed in 1858 from Tazewell; population in 

7 * 



COUNTIES AND BOUNDARIES OF THE STATE. 89 



1860, 1,535; in 1870, 1,952; in 1SS0, 3,074; in 1890, 7,300. 

Webster. Area 450 square miles; county seat Addison; 
formed in 1860 from Braxton, Nicholas and Randolph; 
population in 1860, 1,555; in 1870, 1,730; in 1880, 3,207; in 
1890, 4,783. This was the last county formed while West 
Virginia was a part of Virginia. 

Mineral. Area 300 square miles; county seat Keyser; 
population in 1870, 6,332; in 1880, 8,630; in 1890, 12,085. 
This was the first county formed after West Virginia 
became a state. Grant county w T as formed fourteen days 
later, in 1866. 

Grant. Area 620 square miles; county seat Petersburg; 
settled about 1740; population in 1870, 4,467; in 1880, 5,542; 
in 1890, 6,802. 

Lincoln. Area 460 square miles; county seat Ham- 
lin; settled about 1799; formed in 1867 from Kanawha, 
Cabell Boone and Putnam; population in 1870, 5,053; in 
1880, 8,739; in 1890, 11,246. 

Summers. Area 400 square miles; county seat Hinton, 
formed in 1871 from Monroe, Mercer, Greenbrier and 
Fayette; population in 1880, 9,033; in 1890, 13,117. 

Mingo. Area about 400 square miles; formed in 1895 
from Logan. 

Nearly all the counties of West Virginia are named after 
well-known men, as follows: Barbour — James Barbour, 
governor of Virginia in 1812; Berkeley — William Berkeley, 
governor of Virg-inia in 1641; Boone — Daniel Boone, the 
pioneer of Kentucky; Braxton — Carter Braxton, signer of 
the Declaration of Independence; Brooke — Robert Brooke, 
governor of Virg-inia in 1794; .Cabell — William H. Cabell, 
governor of Virginia in 1805; Calhoun — the statesman J. 
C. Calhoun; Clay — Henry Clay; Doddridge — Philip Dod- 
dridge of Virginia; Fayette— General La Fayette; Gil- 
mer — Thomas W. Gilmer, governor of Virginia in 1840; 
Grant — Ulysses S. Grant; Greenbrier — because many 
briers grew on the banks of the river; Hampshire— from 



90 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 



a shire of that name in England; Hancock — John Hancock,, 
the first signer of the Declaration of Independence; Hardy 
■ — Samuel Hardy of Virginia; Harrison — Benjamin Harri- 
son, governor of Virginia in 1781; Jackson — President An- 
drew Jackson; Jefferson — Thomas Jefferson; Kanawha — 
an Indian word meaning- River of the Woods; Lewis — 
Charles Lewis, who was killed at Point Pleasant in 1774; 
Lincoln — Abraham Lincoln; Logan — an old Indian chief of 
the Mingoes; Marion — General Marion of the revolution; 
Marshall — John Marshall of Virginia, chief justice of the 
United States; Mason — George Mason of Virginia; Mer- 
cer — General Hugh Mercer, killed at the battle of Prince- 
tori; Mineral — named from its coal; Monongalia — an 
Indian name meaning- a river with crumbling banks; 
Monroe — James Monroe of Virginia, governor in 1799, 
Morgan — General Daniel Morgan of the revolution; Mc- 
Dowell — James McDowell, governor of Virginia in 1843; 
Nicholas — W. C. Nicholas, governor of Virginia in 1843; 
Ohio— an Indian word meaning the Beautiful river; Pendle- 
ton — Edmund Pendleton, of Virginia; Pleasants — James 
Pleasants governor of Virginia in 1822; Pocahontas — an 
Indian girl; Preston — James P. Preston governor of 
Virginia in 1816; Putnam — General Israel Putnam of the 
revolution; Raleigh — Sir Walter Raleigh; Randolph — 
Edmund Randolph, governor of Virginia in 1786; Ritchie — 
Thomas Ritchie of Virginia; Roane — Judge Roane of 
Virginia; Summers — Lewis and George W. Summers of 
Kanawha county; Taylor — John Taylor of Virginia; 
Tucker — Judge St. George Tucker; Tyler — John Tyler, 
governor of Virginia in 1808; Upshur — Judge A. P. Upshur, 
secretary of state under President Tyler; Wayne — Gen- 
eral Anthony Wayne of the revolution; Webster — Daniel 
Webster; Wetzel — Lewis Wetzel the Indian fighter; Wirt — 
William Wirt of Virginia; Wood — James Wood, governor 
of Virginia in 1796; Wyoming — supposed to be an Indian 
name; Mingo — a tribe of Indians. 



CHAPTER VII, 



»o« 

CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY, 

The territory now embraced in the state of West Vir- 
ginia has been governed under five state constitutions, 
three of Virginia and two of West Virginia. The first 
was adopted in 1776,, the second in 1830, the third in 1851, 
the fourth in 1863, the fifth in 1872. The first constitu- 
tion was passed by the Virginia convention, June 29, 1776. 
five days before the signing of the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence. Virginia had taken the lead in declaring the 
United States independent and capable of self government; 
and it also took the lead in preparing a system of govern- 
ment for itself. The constitution passed by its conven- 
tion in 1776 was one of the first documents of the kind in 
the world, and absolutely the first in America. Its aim 
was lofty. It had in view greater liberty than men had 
ever before enjoyed. The document is a masterpiece of 
statesmanship; yet its terms are extremely simple. It 
was the foundation on which nearly all the state constitu- 
tions have been based. It was in force nearly fifty years, 
and not until experience had shown wherein it was defec- 
tive was there any disposition to change it or form a new 
constitution. Viewed now in the light of nearly a century 
and a quarter of progressive government, there are fea- 
tures seen in it which do not conform to the ideas of states- 
men of today. But it was so much better, at the time of 
its adoption, than anything gone before, that it was en- 
tirely satisfactory. 

A Bill of Rights preceded the first constitution. On 
May 15, 1776, the Virginia convention instructed its dele- 



92 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



gates in congress to propose to that body to declare the 
united colonies independent; and at the same time the con- 
vention appointed a committee to prepare a declaration of 
rights and a plan of government for Virginia. On June 12 
the Bill of Rights was passed. The document was written 
by George Mason, member of the committee. This state 
paper is of interest, not only as being one of the earliest of 
the kind in America, but because it contains inconsisten- 
cies which in after years clung to the laws of Virginia, 
carrying injustice with them, until West Virginia, when it 
became a state, refused to allow them to become part of 
the laws of the new commonwealth. The chief of these 
inconsistencies is found in the declaration at the outset 
of the Bill of Rights " that all men are by nature equally 
free and independent;" and yet further on it paves the 
way for restricting the privilege of suffrage to -those who 
own property, thereby declaring in terms, if not in words, 
that a poor man is not as 'free and independent as a rich 
one. Here was the beginning of the doctrine so long held 
in Virginia by its law makers that a man without property 
should not have a voice in the government. In after years 
this doctrine was combatted by the people of the territory 
now forming West Virginia. The inhabitants west of the 
Blue Ridge, and especially west of the Alleghanies, were 
the champions of universal suffrage; and they labored to 
attain that end, but with little success, until they were 
able to set up a government for themselves, in which gov- 
ernment men were placed above property. Further on in 
this chapter something more will be found on this subject. 

The Bill of Rights declares that the freedom of the press 
is one of the chief bulwarks of liberty. This is in marked 
contrast with and a noticeable advance beyond the doctrine 
held by Sir William Berkeley, one of Virginia's royal gov- 
ernors, who solemly declared: "I thank God we have not 
free schools or printing, and I hope we shall not have these 
hundred years; for learning has brought disobedience and 



CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 93 



heresy and sects into the world, and printing- has divulged 
them and libels against the government. God keep us 
from both." This solemn protest of Virginia's governor 
was made nearly forty years after the founding of Harvard 
university in Massachusetts. It has been sometimes cited 
as an illustration of the difference between the Puritan 
civilization in Massachusetts and the cavalier civilization of 
Virginia. But the comparison is unfair. It was no test 
of Virginia's civilization, because the governor was carry- 
ing out instructions from England to suppress printing, 
and he did not consult the people of the colony whether 
they wanted printing presses or not. But when a printer, 
John Buckner by name, ten years after Governor Berkeley 
asked divine protection against schools and printing, ven- 
tured into Virginia with a press, he was promptly brought 
before the governor and was compelled to give bond that 
he would print nothing until the king of England gave 
consent. 

In view of this experience it is not to be wondered at 
that the Virginians were prompt in declaring in their Bill 
of Rights, that the press should be free. But they did 
not embrace that excellent opportunity to say a word in 
favor of schools. Nor could they, at one sweep, bring- 
themselves to the . broad doctrine that property does not 
round off and complete the man, but that u a man's a man 
a' for that," and capable, competent and trustworthy to 
take full part in the affairs of government. This Bill of 
Rights was brought into existence in the early part of the 
Revolutionary war; and at that very time 'the bold, patient, 
patriotic and poor back woodsmen from the frontiers were 
in the American armies, fighting and dying' in the cause of 
liberty, and equal rights; and yet, by laws then being 
enacted, these same men were denied the right to take 
part in the management of the government which they 
were fighting to establish. It was for no other reason 
than that they were not assessed with enough property to 



94 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



give "sufficient evidence of permanent common interest 
with and attachment to the community." This notion had 
been brought from England, and had been fastened upon 
the colony of Virginia so firmly that in could not be shaken 
off when that state severed the political bonds which 
bound it to the mother country. The idea clung- to the 
constitution passed in 1776; to that of 1830; to that of 1851; 
but sentiment against the property qualification for 
suffrage constantly grew, and particularly among the 
people of Western Virginia, until it manifested itself in 
striking the obnoxious clause from the constitution when 
the new state of West Virginia came ints separate exist- 
ence. 

If the war of the revolution did not teach the statesmen 
of Virginia that the poor man can be a patriot; and if the 
thirty-five or more years intervening between the adop- 
tion of the constitution of 1776 and the second war with 
England had not sufficed to do so, it mig-ht be supposed 
that the new experience of the war of 1812 would have 
made the fact clear. But it did not convince the law 
maker. Virginia was speedily invaded by the British 
after the declaration of war, and some of the most valuable 
property in the state was destroyed, and some of the best 
territory was overrun by the enemy. The capital at 
Washington, just across the. Potomac from Virginia, was 
captured and burned. An ex-president of the United 
States was compelled to hide in the woods to avoid capture 
by the enemy. In this critical time no soldiers fought 
more valiantly, none did more to drive back the invader, 
than the men from Western Virginia, where lived most of 
those who were classed too poor to take part in the affairs 
of government. It is said that sometimes half the men in 
a company of soldier3 had never been permitted to vote 
because they did not own enough property. 

The people of Western Virginia felt the injustice 
keenly. They never failed to respond promptly to a call 



CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 



95 



when their services were needed in the field; but in time 
of peace they sought in a lawful and decent manner the 
redress of their grievances. They could not obtain this 
redress under the constitution then in force; and the war 
of 1812 had scarcely came to a close when the subject of a 
new constitution began to be spoken of. It was agitated 
long- in vain. Nor was the restriction of suffrage the only 
wrong* the people of Western Virginia endured, somewhat 
impatiently, but always with full respect for the laws then 
in force. 

The eastern part of Virginia had the majority of in- 
habitants and the largest part of the property, and this 
gave that portion of the state the majority in the assembly. 
This power was used w T ith small respect for the rights of 
the people in the western part of the state. Internal im- 
provements were made on a large scale in the east; but 
none were made west of the mountains, or very few. 
Men in the western counties had little encouragement to 
aspire to political distinction. The door was shut on them. 
The state offices were filled by men from the wealthy 
eastern districts. At length the agitation of the question 
of a new constitution ripened into results. The assembly 
of Virginia in 1823 passed a bill submitting to a vote of the 
people whether they would have a constitutional conven- 
tion called. At the election there were 38,542 votes cast, 
of which 21,896 were in favor of a constitutional conven- 
tion. By far the heaviest vote favoring the convention 
was cast west of the Blue Ridge. The wealthy slave 
owners of the lower counties wanted no change. The 
constitution had been framed to suit them, and they 
wanted nothing better. They feared that any change 
would give them something less suitable. Nevertheless, 
when the votes were counted and it was ascertained that 
a new constitution was inevitable, the representatives of 
the wealth of the state set to work to guard against any 
invasion of the privileges they had so long enjoyed. 



96 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



The delegates from what is now West Virginia elected 
to this convention were: E. M. Wilson and Charles S.. 
Morgan of Monongalia county; William McCoy, of Pendle- 
ton county; Alexander Campbell and Philip Doddridge of 
Brooke county; Andrew Beirne of Monroe county; William. 
Smith of Greenbrier county; John Baxter of Pocahontas; 
H. L. Opie and Thomas Griggs of Jefferson; William 
Naylor and William Donaldson of Hampshire; Philip 
Pendleton and Elisha Boyd of Berkeley; E. S. Duncan of 
Harrison; John Laidley of Cabell; Lewis Summers of 
Kanawha; Adam See of Randolph. The leader of the 
western delegates in the convention was Philip Doddridge 
who did all in his power to have the property quantifica- 
tion clause omitted from the new constitution. 

The convention met at Richmond, October 5, 1829.. 
From the very first meeting the western members were 
slighted. No western man was name! in the selection of 
officers of the convention. It was seen at the outset that 
the property qualification for suffrage would not be given 
up by the eastern members without a struggle, and it 
was soon made plain that this qualification would have a 
majority. It was during- the debates in this convention that 
Philip Doddridge, one of "West Virginia's, greatest men,, 
came to the front in his full stature. His opponents were. 
Randolph, Leigh, Upshur, Tazewell, Standard and others, 
who supported the doctrine that a voter/ should be a prop- 
erty owner. One of Doddridge's colleagues was Alexan- 
der Campbell, the founder of the church of the Disciples of 
Christ, sometimes known as the Christian church, and! 
again called, from its founder, the Campbellite church. 
Here "were two powerful intellects, Doldridge and Camp- 
bell, and they championed the cause of liberty in a form 
more advanced than was then allowed in Virginia. Dod- 
dridg-e himself had followed the plow, and. he felt that the 
honest man does not need a certain number of acres be- 
fore he can be trusted with the right of suffrage. He had 



CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 97 

served in the Virginia legislature and knew from observa- 
tion and experience the needs of the people in his part of 
the state. He was born on the bank of the Ohio river two 
years before the backwoodsmen of Virginia annulled the 
Quebec Act, passed by the parliament of England; and he 
had grown to manhood in the dangers and vicissitudes of 
the frontiers. He was but live years old at the first siege 
of Fort Henry; and was ten years old at the second siege; 
and the shot which brought down the last British flag that 
floated above the soil of Virginia during the Revolutionary 
war, was fired almost within hearing- of his home. Among 
his neighbors were Lewis Wetzel, Ebenezer Zane, Samuel 
Brady and the men who fought to save the homes of the 
frontier settlers during the long and anxious years of In- 
dian warfare. Although Doddridge died two years after 
this convention, while serving- in congress, he had done 
enough to give West Virginia reason for remembering 
him. The work of Campbell does not stand out in so con- 
spicuous a manner in the proceedings of the convention; but 
his influence for good w T as great; and if the delegates from 
west of the mountains labored in vain for that time, the re- 
sult was seen in later years. 

The work of the convention was brought to close in 1830, 
and a new 7 constitution was given to the voters of the state 
for their approval or rejection. The western members 
had failed to strike out the distasteful property qualifica- 
tion. They had all voted against it, except Doddridge, 
who w r as unable to attend that session on account of sick- 
ness, no doubt due to overwork. His vote, however, w r ould 
have changed nothing*, as the eastern members had a large 
majority and carried every measure they wanted. In the 
dissatisfaction consequent upon the failure of the western 
counties to secure what- they considered justice, began the 
movement for a new state. More than thirty yeafs elapsed 
before the object was attained; and it was brought about 
by means and from causes which not the wisest statesman 



98 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



foresaw in 1830; yet the sentiment had been growing- all 
the years. The old state of Virginia was never forgiven 
the offense and injury done the western district in the con- 
stitutional convention of 1829-1830. If the injustice was 
partly removed by the enlarged suffrage granted in the 
constitution adopted twenty years after, it was then too 
late for the atonement to be accepted as a blotting out of 
past wrongs; and in 1861 the people of West Virginia re- 
plied to the old state's long years of oppression and 
tyranny. 

The constitution of 1830 adopted the Bill of Rights of 1776 
without amendment or change. Then followed a long pream- 
ble reciting the wrongs under which Virginia suffered, prior 
to the Revolutionary war, before independence was se- 
cured. Under this constitution the Virginia house of del- 
gates consisted of one hundred and thirty-four members, 
of which twenty-six were chosen by the counties lying- 
west of the Alleghenies; twenty-five by the counties be- 
tween the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies; forty-two by 
the counties between the Blue Ridge and tidewater, nad 
thirty-six by the tidewater counties. The senate con- 
sisted of thirty-two members, of which thirteen were from 
the counties west of the Blue Ridge. No priest or preacher 
was eligible to the legislature. The rig-ht of suffrage was 
based on a property qualification. The ballot was forbid- 
den and all voting was viva voce. Judges of the supreme 
court and of the superior courts were not elected by the 
people, but by the joint vote of the senate and house of del- 
egates. The attorney general was chosen in the same way. 
Sheriffs and coroners were nominated by the county courts 
and appointed by the governor. Justices of the peace were 
appointed by the governor, and the constables were ap- 
pointed by the justices. Clerks were appointed by the 
courts. The state treasurer was elected by the joint vote 
of the senate and house of delegates. It is thus seen that 
the only state officers for which people could vote directly 



CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 99 



were senators and members of the house of delegates. 
Such an arrangement would be very unsatisfactory at the 
present day among- people who have become accustomed to 
select their officers, almost without exception, from the 
highest to the lowest. The growth of the republican prin- 
ciple of government has been gradual. It was not all 
grasped at once; nor has it reached its fullest development 
yet. The Bill of Rights and the first constitution of Vir- 
ginia were a great step forward from the bad government 
under England's colonial system; but the gathered wis- 
dom of more than a century has discovered and corrected 
many imperfections. 

It is noticable that the constitution of 1830 contains no 
provisions for public schools. It may be stated generally 
that the early history of Virginia shows little development 
of the common school idea. The state which was satisfied 
for seventy-five years with suffrage denied the poor would 
not fee likely to become famous for its zeal in the cause of 
popular education. The rich, who voted, could afford 
schools for their children; and the father who was poor 
could neither take part in the government nor educate his 
children, Virginia was behind most of the old states in 
free schools. At the very time that Governor Berkeley 
thanked God that there were neither free schools nor 
printing presses in Virginia, Connecticut was devoting 
to education one fourth of its revenue from taxation. As 
late as 1857 Virginia with a population of nearly a million 
and a half, had only 41,608 children in common schools. 
When this is compared with other states, the contrast is 
striking. Massachusetts with a smaller population had 
five times as many children in the free schools; New 
Hampshire with one-fifth the population had twice as 
many; Illinois had nearly eight times as many, yet a 
smaller population; Ohio with a population a little larger 
had more than fourteen times as many children in public 
schools as Virginia. The following- additional states in 



100 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



1857 had more children attending- common schools than 
Virginia had in proportion to their population: Maine, 
Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsyl- 
vania, New Jersey, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa r 
Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Louisiana, 
Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama. The 
states with a smaller percentage of children in the com- 
mon schools than Virginia's, were South Carolina, Cali- 
fornia and Mississippi. For the remainder of the states, 
the statistics for that year were not compiled. 

The showing- is bad for Virginia. Although the lack of 
provision for popular education in the convention of 1830 
does not appear to have caused opposition from the western 
members, yet the promptness with which the new state of 
West Virginia provided for public schools as soon as it 
had a chance, is evidence that the sentiment west of the 
Allegiiaiiies was strong- in favor of popular education. 

When the western delegates returned home after com- 
pleting- their labors in the convention of 1829-1830, they 
found that their constituents were much dissatisfied with 
the constitution. The chief thing* contended for, less 
restriction on suffrage, had been refused; and the new 
constitution, while in some respects better than the old, 
retained the most objectionable feature of the old. At the 
election held early in 1830 for ratifying or rejecting the 
new constitution, 41,618 votes were cast, of which 26,055 
were for ratification and 15,563 against. The eastern part 
of the state voted .strongly for ratification; the western 
part against it. Only two counties in what is now West 
Virginia gave a majority for it; and only one east of the 
Blue Ridg-e voted against it. The yote by counties in West 
Virginia was as follows:. Berkeley, for 95, against 161; 
Brooke, the home of Doddridge and Campbell, for 0, against 
371; Cabell, for 5, against 334; Greenbrier, for 34, ag-ainst 
464; Hampshire, for 241, ag-ainst 211; Hardy, for 63, 
against 120; Karri ./on, for 8, ag-ainst 1.112; Jefferson, for 



CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 



101 



243, against 53; Kanawha, for 42, against 266; Lewis, for 
10, against 546; Logan, for 2, against 255; Mason, for 31, 
against 369; Monongalia, for 305, against 460; Monroe, for 
19, against 451; Morgan, for 29, against 156; Nicholas, for 
28, against 325; Ohio, for 3, against 643; Pendleton, for 58, 
against 219; Pocahontas, for 9, ag-ainst 288; Preston, for 
121, against 357; Randolph, for 4, against 567; Tyler, for 
5, against 299; Wood, for 28, against 410. Total, for 1,383, 
against 8,375. 

Although the constitution of 1830 was unsatisfactory to 
the people of the western counties, and they had voted to 
reject it, it had been fastened upon them by the vote 
of the eastern counties. However, the matter was not > to 
end there. In a republican government the way to reach 
a redress of grievances is to keep the proposed reform 
constantly before the people. If right, it will finally pre- 
vail. In all reform movements or questions, the right is 
nearly always in the minority at first; perhaps it is always 
so. The western Virginians had been voted down, but 
they at once began to agitate the question of calling another 
constitutional convention. They kept at it for twenty 
years. Finally a legislature was chosen which called 
an election on the subject of a constitutional con- 
vention. The majority of the legislature was in favor of 
the convention, and in May, 1850, an election was held to 
choose delegates. Those elected from the country west of 
the Alleg'hanies, and from districts partly east and partly 
west of those mountains, were John Kenney, A. M. New- 
man, John Lionberg-er, George E. Deneale, G. B. Samuels, 
William Seymour, Giles Cook, Samuel C. Williams, Allen 
T. Caperton, Albert G. Pendleton, A. A. Chapman, Charles 
J. Faulkner, William Lucas, Dennis Murphy, Andrew 
Hunter, Thomas Sloan, James E. Stewart, Richard E. 
Byrd, Charles Blue, Jefferson T. Martin, Zachariah Jacob, 
John Knote, Thomas Gaily, Benjamin H. Smith, William 
Smith, Samuel Price, George W. Summers, Joseph John- 



loa 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



son, John F. Snodgrass, Gideon D. Camden, Peter G. Van 
Winkle, William G. Brown, Waitman T. Wiliey, Edward J. 
Armstrong-, James Neeson, Samuel L. Hayes, Joseph 
Smith, John S. Carlisle, Thomas Bland, Elisha W. Mc- 
Comas, Henry J. Fisher, and James H. Ferguson. 

One of these delegates, Joseph Johnson, of Harrison 
county, was the only man up to that time ever chosen gov- 
ernor from the district west of the Alleghanies; and in the 
three-quarters of a century since the adoption of Virginia's 
first constitution, no man from west of the Alleghanies 
had ever been sent to the United States senate; and only 
one had been elected from the country west of the Blue 
Ridg-e. Eastern property had out-voted western men. 
Still the people west of the mountains sought their remedy 
in a new constitution, just as they had soug-ht in vain 
nearly a generation before. 

The constitutional convention met and organized for 
work. The delegates from the eastern part of the state at 
once showed their hand. They insisted from the start 
that there should be a property qualification for suffrage. 
This was the chief point against which the western people 
had been so long contending; and the members from west 
of the Alleghanies were there to resist such a provision in 
the new constitution, and to fig'ht it to the last. Lines 
were drawn upon this issue. The contending forces were 
at once arrayed for the fight. It was seen that the western 
members and the members who took sides with them were 
not in as hopeless a minority as they had been in the con- 
vention of 1830. Still they were not so strong as to assure 
victory; and the battle was to be long* and hard-fought. If 
there was one man among the western members more 
conspicuous as a leader than the others, that man was 
Waitman T. Wiliey, of Monongalia county. An unswerv- 
ing advocate of liberty in its widest interpretation, and 
with an uncompromising hatred of tyranny and oppres- 
sion, he had prepared himself to fight in the front when 



CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 



103 



the question of restriction of suffrage should come up. 
The eastern members forced the issue, and he met it. He 
denied that property is the true source of political power; 
but, rather, that the true source should be sought in wis- 
dom, virtue, patriotism; and that wealth, while not bad in 
itself, frequenly becomes a source of political weakness. 
The rights of persons are above the rights of property. 
Mr. Scott, a delegate from Fauquier county, declared that 
this movement by the western members was simply an 
effort to get their hands on the pocket books of the wealthy 
east. Mr. Willey repelled this impeachment of the integ- 
rity of the west. Other members in sympathy with the 
property qualification took up the cue, and the assault 
upon the motives of the people of the west became severe 
and unjust. But the members from that part of the state 
defended the honor of its people with a vigor and a success 
which defeated the property qualification in the constitu- 
tion. 

It w T as not silenced however. It was put forward and 
carried in another form, by a proviso that members of the 
assembly and senate should be elected on an arbitrary 
basis until the year 1865, and at that time the question 
should be submitted to a vote of the people whether their 
delegates in the legislature should be apportioned on what 
was called the "white basis," or the "mixed basis." The 
first provided that members of the legislature should be 
apportioned according to the number of white inhabitants; 
the second, that they should be apportioned according to 
both property and inhabitants. The eastern members 
believed that in 1865 the vote of the state would favor the 
mixed basis, and thus the property qualification would 
again be in force, although not in exactly the same form 
as before. 

The proceedings of the convention had not advanced far 
when it became apparent that a sentiment in that body 
w T as strong in favor of electing many or all of the county 



104 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



and state officers. The sentiment favoring- electing- judges 
was particularly strong-. Prior to that time the judges in 
Virginia had been chosen by the legislature or appointed 
by the governor who was a creature of the legislature. 
The members from western Virginia, under the lead- 
ership of Mr. Willey, were in favor of electing the 
judges. It was more, in conformity with the principles of 
republican government that the power which selected the 
makers of laws should also select the interpreters of those 
laws, and also those whose duty it is to execute the laws. 
The power of the people was thus increased; and with ir- 
crease of power, there was an increase also in their 
responsibility. Both are wholesome stimulants for the 
citizens of a commonwealth who are rising to new ideas 
and higher principles. The constitution of 1850 is remark- 
able for the general advance embodied in it. The experi- 
ence of nearly half a century has shown that many im- 
provements could be made; but at the time it was adopted, 
its landmarks were set on higher ground. But, as yet, the 
idea that the state is the greatest beneficiary from the 
education of the people, and that it is the duty of the state 
to provide free schools for this purpose, had not g*ained 
sufficient footing to secure so much as an expression in its 
favor in the constitution of 1850. 

The work of the convention was completed, and at an 
election held for the purpose in 1852 it was ratified and be- 
came the foundation for state government in Virginia. 
The Bill of Rights, passed in 1776, and adopted without 
change as a preamble or introduction to the constitution 
of 1830, was amended in several particulars and prefixed 
to the constitution of 1850. The constitution, of 1830 re- 
quired voting by viva voce, without exception. That of 
1850 made an exception in favor of deaf and dumb persons. 
But for all other persons the ballot was forbidden, The 
property qualification for suffrage was not placed in the 
constitution. Although a provision was made to foist a 



CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 



105 



property clause on the state in 1865, the great and unex- 
pected change made by the civil war before the year 1865, 
rendered this provision of no force. The leading- feat- 
ures of the "mixed basis," and "white basis," as con- 
templated by. the constitution, were: In 1865 the people, 
by vote, were to decide whether the members of the state 
senate and lower house should be apportioned in accord- 
ance with the number of voters, without regard to prop- 
erty; or, whether, in such apportionment, property should 
be represented. The former was called the white basis 
or suffrage basis, the latter, mixed basis. Under the 
mixed basis the apportionment would be based on a ratio 
of the white inhabitants and of the amount of state taxes 
paid. Provision was made for the apportionment of sena- 
tors on one basis and members of the lower house on the 
other, if the voters should so decide. The members of 
the convention from West Virginia did not like the mixed 
basis, but the clause making the provision for it went into 
the constitution in spite of them. They feared that the 
populous and wealthy eastern counties would out-vote the 
counties beyond the Alleghanies, and fasten the mixed 
basis upon the whole state. But, West Virginia had sep- 
arated from the old slate before 1865, and never voted on 
that measure. There was a clause which went so far as 
to provide that the members of the senate might be appor- 
tioned solely on the basis of taxation, if the people so 
decided by vote. 

Under the constitution, free negroes were not permitted 
to reside in Virginia, unless free at the time the constitu- 
tion went into effect. Slaves thereafter manumitted for- 
feited their freedom by remaining twelve months in the 
state. Provision was made for enslaving them again. 

For the first time in the history of the state, the gov- 
ernor was to be elected by the people. He had before 
been appointed by the legislature. County officers, clerks, * 
sheriff, prosecuting attorney and surveyor, were no v to 



106 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



be elected by the people. The county court, composed of 
not less than three or more than five justices of the peace, 
held sessions monthly, and had enlarged jurisdiction. 
This arrangement was not consistent with- the advance 
made in other branches of county and state government as 
provided for in the constitution. That county court was 
not satisfactory; and, even after West Virginia became a 
state, it did not at first rid itself of the tribunal which had 
out-lived its usefulness. But after a number of years, a 
satisfactory change was made by the new state. Under 
Virginia's constitution of 1850, the auditor, treasurer and 
secretary were selected by the legislature. 

The first constitution of West Virginia was a growth, 
rather than a creation by a body of men in one convention. 
The history of that constitution is a part of the history of 
the causes leading up to and the events attending the 
creation of a new state from the counties in the western 
part of Virginia, which had refused to follow the old state 
w T ben it seceded from the union of states and joined the 
coalition of rebellious states forming- the Southern Confed- 
erac}'. Elsewhere in this volume will be found a narra- 
tive of the acts by which the new state was formed. The 
present chapter will consider only those movements and 
events directly related to the first constitution. 

The efforts of the northern states to keep slavery from 
spreading to new territory, and the attempts of the south 
to introduce it into the west; the passage of laws by 
northern states by which they refused to deliver runaway 
slaves to their masters; decisions of courts in conflict with 
the wishes of one or the other of the great parties "to the 
controversy; and other acts or doctrines favorable to one 
or the other; all entered into the presidential campaign of 
1860, and gave that contest a bitterness unknown before or 
since in the history of American politics. For many years 
the south had been able to carry its points by the ballot 
box or by statesmanship; but in 1860 the power was slip- 



CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 



107 



ping* away, and th? north was in the ascendancy with its 
doctrines of no further extension of slavery. Aware of 
this, the threat came from the south that the southern 
states would not abide by the result if a republican presi- 
dent should be elected. There w T ere four candidates in 
the field; and the republicans elected Abraham Lincoln. 
The south lost no time in putting- into execution its threat 
that it would not submit to the will of the majority. Had 
the southern states accepted the result; acquiesced in the 
limitation of slavery within those states wherein it already 
had an undisputed foothold, the civil war would not have 
occurred at that time, and perhaps never. Slavery would 
have continued years long-er. But the rashness of the 
southern states, and their disreg-ard of law and order, 
hastened the crisis, and in its result, slavery was stamped 
out. South Carolina led the revolt by a resolution Decem- 
ber 20, 1860, by which that state seceded from the Union. 
Other southern states followed; formed " The Confederate 
States of America," and elected Jefferson Davis president. 

Virginia, as a state, went with the south; but the people 
of the western part when confronted w T ith the momentous 
question: "Choose ye this day whom ye w T ill serve," chose 
to remain citizens of the United States. Governor Letcher 
of Virginia called an extra session of the legislature to 
meet January 7, 1861, to consider public affairs. The leg- 
islature passed a bill calling- a convention of the people of 
Virginia, whose deleg-ates were to be elected Feburay 4, 
to meet in Richmond, February 13, 1861. A substitute 
for this bill offered in the lower house of the legislature, 
providing- that a vote of the people of the state should be 
taken, on the question of calling the convention, was 
defeated. The convention was thus convened without the 
consent of the people; a thing- which had never before bee4 
done in Virginia. 

Deleg-ates were chosen for Western Virginia. They 
were nearly all opposed to secession, and worked to defeat 



108 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



it in the convention. Finding their efforts in vain, they 
returned home, some of them escaping- many dangers and 
overcoming- much difficulty on the way. The action of 
the Virginia convention was kept secret for sometime, 
while state troops, and troops from other states, were 
seizing United States arsenals and other government 
property in Virginia. But when the delegates returned 
io their homes in Western Virginia with the news that 
Virginia had joined the Southern Confederacy, there w T as 
much excitement, and a widespread determination among 
the people not to be transferred to the confederacy. Meet- 
ings were held; delegates were chosen to a convention in 
Wheeling to meet June 11 for the purpose of reorganizing 
the government of Virginia. The government which had 
existed there had gone over to the Southern Confederacy. 
The chief purpose was to save as much of Virginia as 
possible from joining the south, and to take such measures 
for the public safet} y as might be deemed necessary. 

Owing to the peculiar circumstances in which the state 
of Virginia was placed, part in and part out of the Southern 
Confederacy, the constitution of 1850 did not apply to the 
case, and certainly did not authorize the reorganization of 
the state government in the manner in which it was about 
to be done. No constitution and no statute had ever been 
framed to meet such an emergency. The proceeding 
undertaken by the Wheeling convention was authorized 
by no written law, and so far as the statutes of the state 
contemplated such a condition, they forbade it. But, as 
the g-old which sanctified the Temple was greater than the 
Temple, so men w T ho make the law are greater than the 
law. The principle is dangerous when acted upon by 
bad men; but patriots may, in a crisis which admits of no 
delay, be a law unto themselves. The people of Western 
Virginia saw the storm; saw the only salvation, and with 
promptness and wisdom they seized the .helm and made 
for the harbor. 



CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 109 

The constitution of Virginia did not apply . The Wheel- 
ing* convention passed an ordinance for the government of 
the reorganized state. This ordinance could scarcely be 
called a constitution, yet it was a good temporary sub- 
stitute for one. It authorized the convention to appoint a 
governor and lieutenant governor to serve until their 
successors were elected and qualified. They were to 
administer the existing laws of Virginia* The general 
assembly was called to meet in Wheeling, where it was to 
provide for the election of a governor and lieutenant 
governor. The capital of Virginia was thus changed from 
Richmond to Wheeling-, so far as this convention could 
change it. The senators and assemblymen who had been 
chosen at the preceeding election were to constitute the 
legislature. A council of five was appointed by the con- 
vention to assist the governor in the discharge of his duties. 
An allusion to the state constitution, made in this ordinance, 
shows that the convention considered the Virginia con- 
stitution of 1850 still in force, so far as it was applicable 
to the changed conditions. There was no general and 
immediate chang-e of county and district officers provided 
for; but an oath was required of them that they would 
support the constitution of the United States. Provision 
was made for removing from office such as ref used to take 
the oath, and for appointing others in their stead. 

Under and by virtue, of this ordinance the convention 
elected Francis H. Pierpont governor of Virginia, Daniel 
Polsley lieutenant governor, and James S. Wheat attorney 
general. Provision having been made by the general 
assemblv which met in Wheeling for an election of dele- 
gates to frame a constitution for the new state of West 
Virginia, provided a vote of the people should be in favor 
of a new state, and the election having shown that a new 
state was desired, the delegates to the constitutional con- 
vention assembled in Wheeling November 26, .1861. The 
purpose at first had not been to form a new state, but to 



110 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



reorganize and administer the government of Virginia. 
But the sentiment in favor of a new state was strong", and 
resulted in the assembling- of a convention to frame a con- 
stitution. The list of delegates were, Gordon Batelle, 
Ohio county; Richard L. Brooks, Upshur; James H. Brown, 
Kanawha; John J. Brown, Preston; JohnBoggs, Pendleton; 
W. W. Brumfield, Wayne; E. Caldwell, Marshall; 
Thomas R. Carskadon, Hampshire; James S. Cassady, 
Fayette; H. D. Chapman, Roane; Richard M. Cooke, 
Mercer; Henry Bering-, Monongalia; John A. Dille, Pres- 
ton; Ahijah Dolly, Hardy; D. W. Gibson, Pocahontas; S. 
F. Griffith, Mason; Stephen M. Hansley, Raleigh; Robert 
Hogar, Boone; Ephaim B. Hall, Marion; John Hall, Mason; 
Thomas W. Harrison, Harrison; Hiram Haymond, 
Marion; James Hervey, Brooke: J. P. Hoback, McDowell; 
Joseph Hubbs, Pleasants; Robert Irvine, Lewis; Daniel 
Lamb, Ohio; R. W. Lauck, Wetzel; E. S. Mahon, Jackson; 
A. W. Mann, Greenbrier; John R. McCutcheon, Nicholas; 
Dudley S. Montague, Putnam; Emmett J. O'Brien, Barbour; 
Granville Parker, Cabell; James W. Parsons, Tucker: J. 
W. Paxton, Ohio; David S. Pinnell, Upshur: Joseph S. 
Pomeroy,- Hancock; John M. Powell, Harrison; Job Robin- 
son, Calhoun; A. F. Ross, Ohio; Lewis RufCner Kanawha; 
Edward W. Ryan, Fayette, George W. Sheets, Hampshire; 
Josiah Simmons, Randolph; Harmon Sinsel Taylor; Benja- 
min H. Smith, Logan; Abraham D. Soper, Tyler; Benja- 
min L. Stephenson, Clay; William E. Stevenson, Wood; 
Benjamin F. Stewart, Wirt; Chapman J. Stewart. Dod- 
dridge; G. F. Taylor, Braxton; M. Titchenell, Marion; 
Thomas H. Trainer, Marshall; Peter G. Van Winkle, 
Wood; William Walker, Wyoming; William W. Warder, 
Gilmer; Joseph S. Wheat, Morgan; Wait man- T. Willey, 
Monongalia; A. J. Wilson, Ritchie; Samuel Young, Poca- 
hontas. 

There were two sessions of this convention, the first in 
the latter part of 1861; the second beginning February 12, 



■CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 



Ill 



1863. The constitution was completed at the first session, 
as was supposed; but when the question of admitting- the 
state into the Union was before congress, that body re- 
quired a change of one section regarding- slavery, and the 
convention was reconvened and made the necessary 
change. 

When the convention assembled November 15, 1861, it 
set about its task. The first intention was to name the 
new state Kanawha, but there being objections to this, the 
name of Augusta was suggested. Then Alleghany, 
Western Virginia, and finally the name West Virginia was 
chosen. Selecting a name for the new state was not the 
most difficult matter before the convention. Very soon 
the question of slavery came up. The sentiment ag'ainst 
that institution was not strong enough to exclude it from 
the state. No doubt a majority of the people would have 
voted to exclude it, but there was a strong element not yet 
ready to dispense with slavery, and a division on that 
question was undesirable at that time. Accordingly, the 
constitution dismissed the slavery question with the pro- 
vision that no slaA^e should be brought into the state, nor 
free negroes come into the state after the adoption of the 
constitution. Before the constitution was submitted to a 
vote of the people, it was chang-ed to provide for the 
-emancipation of slaves. 

The new constitution had a provision which was never 
contained in the constitutions of Virginia; it afiirmed that 
West Virginia shall remain a member of the United States. 
When this constitution was framed, it did not regard 
Hampshire, Hardy, P2ndleton, and Morgan asparts of the 
state, but proA T ided that they mig-ht become parts of West 
Virginia if they voted in favor of adopting the constitution. 
They so voted, and thus came into the state. The same 
provision was made in regard to Frederick county, but it 
chose to remain a portion of Virginia. It was declared 
that there should be freedom of the press and of speech, 



112 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

and the law of libel was given a liberal interpretation, and 
was rendered powerless to curtail the freedom of the: 
press. It was provided that in suits of libel, the truth 
could be given in evidence, and if it appeared that the mat- 
ter charged as libellous was true, and was published with 
good intentions, the judgment should be for the defendant 
in the suit. The days of viva voce voting- were past. The 
constitution provided that all voting- should be by ballot*. 
The legislature was required to meet every year. 

A clause was inserted declaring that no persons who 
had aided or abetted the Southern Confederacy should be- 
come citizens of the state, unless such persons had subse- 
quently volunteered in the army or the navy of the United 
States. This measure seems harsh when viewed from 
afteryears when the passions kindled by the civil war have 
cooled, and the prejudice and hatred have become things, 
of the past. It must be remembered that the constitution 
came into existence during- the war. The better judg- 
ment of the people at a later day struck out that clause- 
But at the worst, the measure was only one of retaliation, 
in remembrance of the tyranny recently shown within 
this state toward loyal citizens and office holders by 
sympathizers of the Southern Confederacy. The over- 
bearing spirit of the politicians of Richmonnd found its 
echo west of the Alleghanies. Horace Greeley had been 
deterred from delivering" a lecture in ¥/heeeling on the 
issues of the da} 7 ", because his lecture contained references 
to the slavery question. In Ohio county at that time, 
those who opposed slavery were in the majority, but not 
in power. There were not fifty- slave holders in the 
count}^. Horace Greeley was indicted in Harrison county 
because he had caused the Tribune, his newspaper, to be 
circulated there. The agent of the Tribune tied from the 
state to escape arrest. Postmasters, acting as they 
claimed under the law T s of Virginia, refused to deliver to 
subscribers such papers as the New York Tribune and the 



CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 



113 



New York Christian Advocate. A Baptist minister who 
had taught colored children in Sunday school was for that 
act ostracized, and he left Wheeling-. Newsdealers in 
Wheeling- were afraid to keep on their shelves a statistical 
book written "by a North Carolinian, because it treated of 
slavery in its economic aspect. Dealers were threatened 
with indictment if they handled the book. Cassius Clay 
of Kentucky was threatened with violence for coming" to 
Wheeling- to deliver a lecture which he had delivered in 
his own state. The newspapers of Richmond reproached 
Wheeling- for permitting- such a paper as the Intelligencer 
to be published there. 

These instances of tyranny from southern sympathizers 
are given, not so much for their value as simple history, as 
to show the circumstances under which West Virginia's 
first constitution was made, and to give an insight into the 
partisan feeling which led to the insertion of the clause dis- 
franchising- those who took part against the United States. 
Those who upheld the union had in the meantime come 
into power, and in turn had become the oppressors. Re- 
taliation is never right as an abstract proposition, and sel- 
dom best so as a political measure. An act of injustice 
should not be made a precedent or an excuse for a wrong 
perpetrated upon the authors of the unjust act. Time has 
done its part in committing to oblivion the hatred and the 
Avrong which grew out of the civil war. Under West Vir- 
ginia's present constitution, no man has lesser or greater 
political powers because he wore the blue or the grey. 

Representation in the state senate and house of dele- 
gates was in proportion to the number of people. The 
question of the "white basis," or the "mixed basis," as 
contained in the Virginia constitution of 1850, no longer 
troubled West Virginia. Suffrage was extended until the 
people elected their officers, state county and district, in- 
cluding all judg-es. 

The constitution provided for fre'3 schools, and author- 



114 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



ized the setting* apart of an irreduceable fund for that pur- 
pose. The fund is derived from the sale of delinquent 
lands; from grants and devises, the proceeds of estates of 
persons who die without will or heirs; money paid for ex- 
emption from military duty; such sums as the legislature 
may appropriate, and from other sources. This is in- 
vested in United States or state securities, and the interest 
is annually appropriated to the support of the schools. 
The principal must not be expended. 

The constitution was submitted to the people for ratifi- 
cation in April, 1863, and the vote in favor of it was 18,862, 
and against it 514. Jefferson and Berkeley counties did 
not vote. They had not been represented in the conven- 
tion which formed the constitution. With the close of the 
war, Virginia claimed them, and West Virginia claimed 
them. The matter was finally settled by the supreme 
court of the United States in 1870, in favor of West Vir- 
ginia. It was at one time considered that the counties of 
Northampton and Accomack on the eastern shore of Vir- 
ginia belonged to the new state of West Virginia because 
they had sent delegates to the Wheeling convention for the 
reorganization of the state government. It was once pro- 
posed that these two counties be traded to Maryland in 
exchange for the two western counties in that state which 
were to be added to West Virginia; but the trade was not 
consummated. 

Under the constitution of 1863 the state of West Virginia 
was governed nine years, and there was general prosperity. 
But experience demonstrated that many of the provisions 
of the constitution were not perfect. Amendments and 
improvements were suggested from time to time, and there 
gradually grew up a strong sentiment in favor of a new 
constitution. On February 23, 1871, a call was issued for 
an election of delegates to a constitutional convention. The 
election was held in August of that year, and in January, 
1872, the delegate met in Charleston and began the work. 



CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 



115 



They completed it in a little less than three months. 

The following- delegates were elected by the various 
senatorial and assembly districts of the state: Brooke 
county, Alexander Campbell, William K. Pendleton; 
Boone, William D. Pate; Braxton, Homer A. Holt; Berke- 
ley, Andrew W. McCleary, C. J. Faulkner, John Blair 
Hoge; Barbour, Samuel Woods, J. N. B. Crim; Clay, B. 
W. Byrne; Calhoun, Lemuel Stump; Cabell, Evermont 
Ward, Thomas Thornburg; Doddridge, Jeptha F. Ran- 
dolph; Fayette, Hudson M. Dickinson; Greenbrier, Henry 
M. Mathews, Samuel Price; Harrison, Benjamin Wilson, 
Beverly H. Lurty, John Bassel; Hampshire, J. B. Arm- 
strong-, Alexander Monroe; Hardy, Thomas Maslin; Han- 
cock, John H. Atkinson; Jefferson, William H. T ravers, 
Log-an Osburn, William A. Morgan; Jackson, Thomas R. 
Park; Kanawha, John A. Warth, Edward B. Knig-ht, Nich- 
olas Fitzhug-h; Lewis, Mathew Edmiston, Blackwell Jack- 
son; Log-an, M. A. Staton; Morg-an, Lewis Allen; Monon- 
galia, Waitman T. Willey, Joseph Snider, J. Marshall 
Hag-ans; Marion, U. N. Arnett, Alpheus F. Haymond, 
Fountain Smith; Mason, Charles B. Waggener, Alonzo 
Cushing-; Mercer, Isaiah Bee, James Calfee; - Mineral, John 
A. Robinson, John T. Pearce; Monroe, James M. Byrn- 
sides, William Haynes; Marshall, James M. Pipes, J. W. 
Gallaher, Hanson Criswell; Ohio, George O. Davenport, 
William W. Miller, A. J. Pawnell, James S. Wheat; Putnam, 
in John J. Thompson; Pendleton, Charles D. Boggs; Poca- 
hontas, George H. Moffett; Preston, William G. Brown, 
Charles Kantner; Pleasants, W. G. H. Care; Roane, Thomas 
Ferrell; Ritchie, Jacob P. Strickler; Randolph, J. F. Hard- 
ing; Raleigh, William Price, William McCreery; Taylor, A. 
H. Thayer, Benjamin F. Martin; Tyler, Daniel D. Johnson, 
David S. Pugh; Upshur, D. D. T. Farnsworth; Wirt, D. 
A. Roberts, David H. Leonard; Wayne, Charles W. Fer- 
guson; Wetzel, Septimius Hall; Wood, James M. Jackson, 
Okey Johnson. 



116 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



The new constitution of West Virginia enters much 
more fully into the ways and means of government than 
any other constitution Virginia or West Virginia had 
known. It leaves less for the courts to interpret and 
decide than any of the former constitutions. The details 
are elaborately worked out, and the powers and duties of 
the three departments of state government, the legisla- 
tive, judicial and executive, are stated in so precise terms 
that there can be little ground, for controversy as to what 
the constitution means. The terms of the state officers 
were increased to four years, and the legislature's sessions 
were changed from yearly to once in two years. A 
marked chang-e in the tone of the constitution regarding- 
persons who took part in the civil war, against the govern- 
ment, is noticeable. Not only is the clause in the former 
constitution disfranchising- those who took part in the 
rebellion, not found in the new constitution, but in its 
stead is a clause which repudiates, in express terms, the 
sentiment on this subject in the former constitutions. It 
is stated that "political tests, requiring- persons, as a pre- 
requsite to the enjoyment of their civil and political rig-hts, 
to purg-e themselves, by their own oaths, of past alleged 
offenses, are repug-nant to the principles of free govern- 
ment, and are cruel and oppressive." The ex-confeder- 
ates and those who sympathized with and assisted them in 
their war against the United States, could have been as 
effectively restored to their rig-hts by a simple clause to 
that effect, as by the one employed, which passess judg- 
ment upon a part of the former constitution. The lan- 
guage on this subject in the new constitution may, there- 
fore, be taken as the matured judg-ment, and as an expres- 
sion of the purer conception of justice by the people of 
West Virginia when the passions of the war had subsided, 
and when years had given time for reflection. It is pro- 
vided, also, that no person who aided or participated in 
the rebellion shall be liable to any proceeding's, civil or 



CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 117 

criminal, for any act done by him in accordance with the 
rules of civilized warfare. It was provided in the consti- 
tution of Virginia that ministers and priests should not be 
eligible to seats in the legislature. West Virginia's new 
constitution broke down the barrier against a worthy and 
law-abiding class of citizens. It is provided that "all men 
shall be free to profess, and, by argument, to maintain 
their opinions in matters of religion; and the same shall, 
in no wise, affect, diminish, or enlarge their civil capaci- 
ties." 

A change was made in the matter of investing the state 
school fund. The first constitution authorized its invest- 
ment in United States or West Virginia state securities 
•only. The new constitution provided that it might be in- 
vested in other solvent securities, provided United States 
or this state's securities cannot be had. The provision 
for courts did not meet general approval as left by the 
constitution, and this dissatisfaction at length led to an 
amendment which was voted upon October 12, 1880, and 
was ratified by a vote of 57,941 for to 34,270 against. It 
provides that the supreme court of appeals shall consist 
of four judges who shall hold office twelve years; and they 
and all other judges and justices in the state shall be 
elected by the people. There shall be thirteen circuit 
judges, and they must hold at least three terms of court 
in every county of the state each year. There tenure of 
office is eight years. The county court was remodeled. 
It no longer consists of justices of the peace, nor is its 
powers as large as formerly. It is composed of three 
commissioners whose term of office is six years. Four 
, regular terms of court are held yearly. The powers and 
duties of the justices of the peace are clearly defined. No 
county shall have fewer than three justices nor more than 
twenty. Each county is divided into districts, not fewer 
than three nor more than ten in number. . Each district 
has one justice, and if its population is more than twelve 



118 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



hundred, it is entitled to two. They 'hold office four 
years. 

There is a provision in the constitution that any county 
may change its county court if a majority of the electors 
vote to do so, after the forms laid down by law have been 
complied with. It is left to the people, in such a case, to 
decide what shall be the nature of the tribunal which takes 
the place of the court of commmissioiiers. 

The growth of the idea of liberty and civil government 
in a century, as expressed in the Bill of Rights and the 
Virginia constitution of 1776, and as embodied in the 
subsequent constitutions of 1830, 1850, 1863 and 1872, 
shows that the most sanguine expectations of the states- 
men of 1776 have been realized and surpassed in the 
present time. The right of suffrage has been extended 
beyond anything dreamed of a century ago; and it has 
been demonstrated that the people are capable of under- 
standing and enjoying their enlarged liberty. The 
authors of Virginia's first constitution believed that it was 
unwise to entrust the masses with the powers of govern- 
ment. Therefore, the chief part taken by the people in 
their own government was in the selection of their legisla- 
ture. All other state, county and district officers were 
filled by appointments or by elections by the legislature. 
Limited as was the exercise of suffrage, it was still 
further restricted by a property qualification which dis- 
franchised a large portion of the people. Yet this liberty 
was so great in comparison with that enjoyed while under 
England's colonial government, that the people were 
satisfied for a long time. But finally they demanded 
enlarged rights, and obtained them. When they at length 
realized that they governed themselves, and were not 
governed by others, they speedily advanced in the science 
of government. The property qualification was abolished. 
The doctrine that wealth was the true source of political 
power was relegated to the past. From that it was but a 



CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 



119 



step for the people to exercise a right which they had long- 
suffered others to hold — that of electing- all their officers. 
At first they did not elect their own g-overnor; and as late 
as 1850 they acquiesed, though somewhat reluctantly, in 
the doctrine that they could not be trusted to elect their 
own judges. But they have thrown all this aside now, 
and their officers are of their own selection; and no man, 
because he is poor, if capable of self support, is denied an 
equal voice in g-overnment with that exercised by the most 
wealthy. Men, not wealth, intelligence, not force, are the 
true sources of our political power. 



CHAPTER VOL 



»o« 

JOHN BROWN'S RAID, 

The attempt of John Brown to free the slaves; his siez- 
i\re of the United States armory at Harper's Ferry; his 
capture, trial and execution, form a page in W est Virginia's 
history in which the whole country, and in a lesser degree 
the whole civilized world, felt an interest at the time of its 
occurrence; and that interest will long" continue. The 
siezure of the government property at that place by rn 
ordinary mob would have created a stir; but the incident 
would have lost its interest in a short time, and at a short 
distance from the scene of disturbance. But Brown's ac- 
complices were no ordinary mob; and the purpose in view 
g'ave his attempt its great importance. In fact, much more 
importance was attached to the raid than it deserved. 
Viewed in the light of history, it is plain that Brown could 
not have freed many slaves, nor could he have caused any 
wide-spread uprising among- them. The military re- 
sources of the government, or even of the state of Virginia, 
were sufficient to stamp out in short order any attempted 
insurrection at that time. There were not enough people 
willing and ready to assist the attempt. There were too 
many willing and ready to put it down. Brown achieved 
about as much success as he could reasonably expect, and 
his attempt at emancipating slaves ran its logical course. 
But the extreme sensitiveness of the slave holders and their 
fears that abolitionists would incite an uprising, caused 
Brown's bold dash to be given an importance at the time 
far beyond what it deserved. 

John Brown was a man of great courage; not easily ex- 

9 



JOHN BROWN'S RAID. 



121 



cited; cool and calculating-; not bloodthirsty, but willing - to 
take the life of any one who stood between him and the ac- 
complishment of his purpose. He has been very generally 
regarded as a fanatic, who had followed an idea until he be- 
came a monomaniac. It is difficult to prove this view of 
him to be incorrect; yet, without doubt, his fanaticism was 
•of a superior and unusual kind. The dividing- line between 
fanatics and the hig-hest order of reformers, those who live 
before their time, who can see the light touching- the peaks 
beyond the valleys and shadows in which other men are 
walking-, is not always clearly marked. It is not for us to 
•say to which class of men Brown belonged; and certainly 
it is not given us to set him among the blind fanatics. If 
he must be classified, we run less risk of error if we place 
him with those whose prophetic vision outstrips their 
-physical strength; with the sentinel on the watch tower 
of Sier, of whom Isaiah speaks. 

What he hoped to accomplish, and died in an attempt to 
accomplish, was brought about in less than five years from 
his death. If he failed to free the slaves, they were speed- 
ily freed by that sentiment of which he was an extreme 
representative. It cannot be said that Brown's efforts 
w T ere the immediate, nor even the remote, cause which 
emancipated the black race in the United States; but be- 
yond doubt the affair at Harper's Ferry had a powerful 
influence in two directions, either of which worked toward 
-emancipation. The one influence operated in the North 
upon those who desired emancipation, stimulating them to 
renewed efforts; the other influence had its effect among 
the Southern slave owners, kindling their anger and 
their fear, and urging them to acts by" which they 
hoped to strengthen their grip upon the institution of 
slavery, but which led them to war against the government, 
and their hold on slavery was shaken loose forever. John 
Brown was born in Connecticut, went to Kansas with his 
family and took part in the civil war in that state which 



122 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



raged between the slave faction and those opposed to the 
spread of slavey. Brown affiliated with the latter, and 
fought in more than one armed encounter. He was one of 
the boldest leaders, fearless in fig'hf, stubborn in defense, 
and relentless in pursuit. He hated slavery with an in- 
appeasable hatred. He belonged to the party in the North 
called abolitionists, whose avowed object was to free the 
slaves. He was perhaps more radical than the majority 
of that radical party. They hoped to accomplish their 
purpose by creating- a sentiment in its favor. Brown ap- 
pears to have been impatient at this slow process. He be- 
lieved in uniting- force and arg-ument, and he soon became 
the leader of that wing- of the ultra abolitionists. On May 
8, 1858, a secret meeting- was held in Chatham, Canada, 
which was attended by deleg-ates from different states, and 
from Canada. The object was to devise means of freeing- 
the slaves. It is not known exactly what the proceeding's 
of the meeting- were, except that a constitution was out- 
lined for the United States, or for such states as mig-ht be 
taken possession of. Brown was commander-in-chief; 
one of his companions named Kag-i was secretary of war. 
Brown issued several military commissions. 

Harper's Ferry was selected as the point for the upris- 
ing-. It was to be seized and held as a place of rendezvous 
for slaves from Maryland and Virginia, and when a suffi- 
cient number had assembled there they were to march un- 
der arms across Maryland into Pennsylvania and there 
disperse. The negroes were to be armed with tomahawks 
and spears, they not being- sufficiently acquainted with 
* firearms to use them. It was believed that the slaves would 
eag-erly grasp the opportunity to gain their freedom, and 
that the movement, begun at one point, would spread and 
grow until slavery was stamped out. Brown no doubt in- 
correctly estimated the sentiment in the North in favor of 
emancipation by f^rce of arms. In company with his two 
sons, Watson and Oliver, Brown rented a farm near Sharps- 



JOHN BROWN'S RAID. 



123 



burg-, in Maryland, from Dr. Kennedy. This was within 
a few miles of Harper's Ferry, and was used as a gather- 
ing point for Brown's followers, and as a place of conceal- 
ment for arms. Brown represented that his name was 
Anderson. He never had more than tw T enty~two men about 
the farm. From some source in the east, never certainly 
ascertained, arms were shipped to Brown, under the name 
of J. Smith & Son. The boxes were double, so that no one 
could suspect their contents. In this manner he received 
two hundred and ninety Sharp's rifles, tw T o hundred May- 
nard revolvers and one thousand spears and tomahawks. 
Brown expected from two thousand to five thousand men, 
exclusive of slaves, to rise at his word and come to his as- 
sistance. In this be was mistaken. He knew that twenty- 
two men could not hold Harper's Ferry, and without doubt 
he calculated, and expected even to the last hour before 
capture, that his forces would rally to his assistance. When 
he found that they had not done so, he concluded that the 
blow had been struck too soon. 

About ten o'clock on the night of October 16, 1859, with 
seventeen white men and five negroes, Brown proceeded to 
Harper's Ferry, overpowered the sentry on the bridge, 
seized the United States arsenal, in which were stored arms 
sufficient to equip an arni}^ took several persons prisoner 
and confined them in the armory; visited during the night 
some of the farmers in the vicinity, took them prisoner and 
declared freedom to their slaves; cut the telegraph wires 
leading from Harper's Ferry; seized an eastbound train on 
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, but subsequently let it 
proceed, after announcing- that no other train would be 
permitted to pass through Harper's Ferry. 
• The people in the town knew nothing of what was tak- 
ing place until daybreak. At that time a negro porter at 
the railroad station was shot and killed because he refused 
to join the insurgents, and an employet.at the armory was 
shot at when he refused to be taken prisoner. A merchant 



124 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

witnessed the shooting', and fired from his store at one of 
Brown's men. He missed, but was shot dead in return. 
When workmen belonging* to the armory appeared at the 
hour for beginning", their daily labors, they were arrested 
and confined in one of the government buildings as a prison. 
The village was now alarmed. The mayor of the town, 
Fontaine Beckham, and Captain George Turner, formerly 
of the United States army, appeared on the scene, and 
were fired upon and killed. The wires having been cut, 
news of the insurrection was slow in reaching the sur- 
rounding country; but during the forenoon telegrams were 
sent from the nearest offices. The excitement through- 
out the south was tremendous. The people there believed 
that a gigantic uprising of the slaves was at hand. The 
meagre information concerning the exact state of affairs at 
Harper's Ferry caused it to be greatly overestimated. At 
Washington the sensation amounted to a shock. General 
Robert E. Lee was ordered to the scene at once with one 
hundred marines. 

Military companies began to arrive at Harper's Ferry 
from neighboring towns. The first upon the scene was 
Colonel Baylor's company from Charlestown. Shortly 
afterwards two companies arrived from Martinsburg. A 
desultory fire was kept up during the day, in which sev- 
eral persons were killed. An assault on one of the build- 
ings held by Brown was successfully made by the militia. 
Four of the insurgents were killed and a fifth was made 
prisoner. Brown and the remainder of his men took 
refuge in the engine house at the armoiw, except four who 
fled and escaped to Pennsylvania. Two of them were sub- 
sequently captured. Two of Brown's men came out to 
hold a parley and were shot and taken prisoner. One was 
killed in revenge for the death of Mayor Beckham; the 
other was subsequently tried, convicted and hanged. 
About three o'clock in the afternoon of October 17, about 
twenty railroad men made a dash at the engine house, 



JOHN BROWN'S RAID. 125 

broke down the door and killed two of Brown's men. But 
they were repulsed with seven of their number wounded. 

Before sunset there were more than one thousand men 
In Harper's Ferry under arms, having- come in from the 
surrounding- country; but no further assault was made on 
Brown's position that day for fear of killing the men whom 
he held prisoner in the building- with him. That night R. 
E. Lee arrived from Washington with one hundred marines 
and two pieces of artillery. Lieutenant J. E. B. Stuart was 
with him. Early Tuesday morning, October 18, Stuart 
was sent to demand an unconditional surrender, promising- 
only that Brown and his men should be protected from im- 
mediate violence, and should have a trial under the laws of 
the country. Brown refused to accepted these terms, but 
demanded that he and his men be permitted to march out 
with their prisoners, cross the Potomac tin pursued. They 
would then free their prisoners and would escape if they 
could; if not, they would fight. Of course Stuart did not 
accept this offer. Preparations were made for an attack. 
The marines brought up a heavy ladder, and using it as a 
battering ram, broke open the door of the engine house and 
rushed in. Brown and his men fought till killed or over- 
powered. The first man who entered, named Quinn, was 
killed. Brown was stabbed twice with bayonets and then 
cut down by a sabre stroke. All his, men but two were 
killed or wounded. These were taken prisoner. Of the 
whole band of twenty-two, ten white men and three negroes 
were killed; three white men were wounded; two had made 
their escape; all the others were captured. 

It was believed that Brown's injuries would prove fatal 
in a few hours, but he rallied. Within the next few da}^s 
he was indicted for murder, and for treason against the 
United States. In his case the customary interval did not 
elapse between his indictment and his trial. He was cap- 
tured October 18, and on October 26 his case was called 
for trial in the county court at Charlestown, in Jefferson 



126 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



county. Brown's attorneys asked for a continuance on the 
ground that the defendant was physically unable to stand 
trial. The motion for a continuance was denied, and the 
trial proceeded. Brown reclined on a cot, being- unable to 
sit. The trial was extremely short, considering* the im- 
portance of the case. Within less than three days the jury 
had brought in a verdict of guilty, and Brown was sen- 
tenced to be hanged December 16. Executive clemency 
was sought. Under the lav/ of Virginia at that time the 
governor w r as forbidden to grant pardon to any one convic- 
ted of treason, except with the consent of the assembly. 
Governor Henry A. Wise notified the assembly of Brown's 
application for pardon. That body passed a resolution, 
December 7, by which it refused to interfere in Brown's 
behalf, and he died on the scaffold at the appointed time. 
Six of his companions were executed, four on the same 
day with their leader, and two in the following March. 

The remains of Brown were taken to North Elba, New 
York, where Wendell Phillips pronounced a eulogy. Per- 
haps Brown contributed more to the emancipation of slaves 
by his death than by his life. 



CHAPTER IX, 



«o» 

THE ORDINANCE OF SECESSION 

Although West Virginia at the time was a part of Vir- 
ginia, it refused to go with the majority of of the people of 
that state in seceding from the United States and joining 
the Southern Confederacy. The circumstances attending 
that refusal constitute an important chapter in the history 
of West Virginia. Elsewhere in this book, m speaking of 
the constitution of this and the mother state, reference is 
made to the differences in sentiment and interests between 
the people west of the Alleg'hanies and those east of that 
range. The ordinance of secession was the rock upon 
which Virginia was broken in twain. It was the occasion 
of the west's separating from the east. The territory 
which ought to have been a separate state at the time Ken- 
tucky became one, seized the opportunity of severing the 
political ties which had long bound it, somewhat unwill- 
ingly, to the Old Dominion. Virginia, after the war, in- 
vited the new state to reunite with it, but a polite reply 
w T as sent, that West Virginia preferred to retain its state- 
hood. The sentiment in favor of separation did not spring 
up at once. It had been growing for three quarters of a 
century. Before the close of the Revolutionary war the 
subject had attracted such attention that a report on the 
subject was made by a committee in congress. But many 
years before that time a movement for a new state west of 
the Alleghanies had been inaugurated bv George Washing- 
ton, Benjamin Franklin and others, some of whom were- 
interested in land on the Kanawha and elsewhere. The 
new state was to be named Vandalia, and the capital 



128 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 



was to be at the mouth of the Great Kanawha. The move* 
ment for a new state really began there, and never after- 
wards slept; and finally, in 1863, re was s ccomplished, after 
no less than ninety-three years of agitation. 

The legislature of Virginia met in extra session January 
7, 1861. The struggle had begun. The rebels had not 
yet opened their batteries on Fort Sumpter, but the South 
had plainly spoken its defiance. The Southern Confed- 
eracy was forming. The elements of resistance were get- 
ting- together. The storm of war was about to break upon 
the country. States further south had seceded or had 
decided to do so. Virginia had not yet decided. Its peo- 
ple were divided. The state hesitated. If it joined the 
confederacy, it would be the battle ground in the most- 
gigantic war the world ever saw. It was the g-ateway by 
which the armies of the north would invade the south- 
Some affected to believe, perhaps some did believe, that 
there would be no war; that the south would not be in- 
vaded; that the north would not go beyond argument. 
But the people of better judgment foresaw the storm, and 
the}^ knew where it would break, The final result, no 
man foresaw. Many hoped; many doubted; but at that 
time no man saw what four years would bring forth- 
Thus, Virginia hesitated long- before she cast her fortunes, 
with the states already in rebellion. When she took' the. 
fatal step; when she fought as only the brave can fight;, 
when she was crushed by weight rather than vanquished, 
she accepted the result, and emerged from the smoke of 
battle, stiil great; and like Carthage of old, her splendor 
seemed only the more conspicuous by the desolation which, 
war had brought. 

The Virginia legislature called a convention to meet at 
Richmond February 13, 1861. The time was short, but 
the crisis was at hand, The flame was kindling-. Meet- 
ings were being- held in all the eastern part of the state, 
and the people were nearly unanimous in their demand. 



THE ORDINANCE OF SECESSION. 129 

that the state join the Confederacy. At least, few opposed 
this demand; but at that time it is probable that one-half 
of the people of the state opposed secession. But rebellion 
was in the saddle and it held the reins. Richmond had 
gone mad. It was the center of a whirlpool of insurrec- 
tion. West of the Alleghany mountains the scene was 
different. The mass of the people did not at once grasp 
the situation. They knew the signs of the times were 
strange; that currents were drifting- to a center; but that 
war was at hand of gigantic magnitude, and that the state of 
Virginia was "choosing that day whomshewould serve," 
were not clearly understood at the outset. But, as the 
great truth dawned, and as its lurid ligirt became brighter, 
West Virginia was not slow in choosing whom she would 
serve. The people assembled in their towns, and a num- 
ber of meetings were held, even before the convening of 
the special session of the legislature, and there was but 
one sentiment expressed, and that was loyalty to the gov- 
ernment. Preston count}' held the first meeting, Novem- 
ber 12, 1860; Harrison county followed the twenty-sixth of 
the same month; two days later the people of Monong-alia 
assembled to discuss and take measures; a. similar gather- 
ing took place in Taylor county, December 4; and another 
in Wheeling ten days later; and on the seventh of the Jan- 
uary following there was a meeting in Mason count}'. 

On January 21 the Virginia legislature declared by res- 
olution that, unless the differences between the two sec- 
tions of the country could be reconciled, it was Virginia's 
duty to join the confederacy. That resolution went side 
by side with the call for an election of delegate to the Rich- 
mond convention, which was to "take measures." The elec- 
tion was held February 4, 1S61, and nine days later the 
momorable convention assembled. Little time had been 
given for a campaigm. Western Virginia sent men who 
were the peers of any from the eastern part of the state. 
The following delegates were chosen from the territory 



130 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



now forming- West Virginia: Barbour county, Samuel 
Woods; Braxton and Nicholas, B. W. 'Byrne; Berkeley, 
Edmund Pendleton and Allen C. Hammond; Brooke, Camp- 
bell Tarr; Cabell, William McComas; Doddridge and Ty- 
ler, Chapman J. Stuart; Fayette and Raleigh, Henry L. 
Gillespie; Greenbrier, Samuel Price; Gilmer and Wirt, 
C. B. Conrad; Hampshire, David Pugh and Edmund M. 
Armstrong-; Hancock, George M. Porter; Harrison, John 
S. Carlisle and Benjamin Wilson; Hardy, Thomas Maslin; 
Jackson and Roane, Franklin P. Turner; Jefferson, Alfred 
M. Barbour and Logan Osburn; Kanawha, Spicer Patrick 
and George W. Summers; Lewis, Caleb Bog-g-ess; Logan, 
Boone and Wyoming-, James Lawson; Marion, Ephriam B. 
Hall and Alpheus S. Hay mond; Marshall, James Burley; 
Mason, James H. Crouch; Mercer, Napoleon B. French; 
Monongalia, Wait man T. Willey and Marshall M. Dent; 
Monroe, John Echols and Allen T. Caperton; Morgan, 
Johnson Or rick; Ohio, Chester D. Hubbard and Sherard 
Clemens; Pocahontas, Paul McNeil; Preston, William G. 
Brown and James C. McGrew; Putnam, James W. Hoge; 
Ritchie, Cyrus Hall; Randolph and Tucker, J. N. Hughes; 
Taylor, John S. Burdette; Upshur, George W. Berlin; 
Wetzel, L. S. Hall; Wood, General John J. Jackson; Wayne, 
Burwell Spurlock. 

When the convention met, it was doubtful if a majority 
were in favor of secession. At any rate, the leaders in 
that movement, who had caused the convention to be 
called for that express purpose, appeared afraid to push 
the question to a vote, and from that day began the work 
which ultimately succeeded in winning over enough dele- 
gates, who at nrst were opposed to secession, to carry the 
state into the confederacy. 

There were forty-six delegates from the counties now 
forming West Virginia. Nine of these voted for the ordi- 
nance of secession, seven were absent, one was excused, 
and twenty-nine voted against it. The principal leaders 



THE ORDINANCE OF SECESSION. 131 



among the West Virginia delegates who opposed seces- 
sion, were J. C. McGrew, of Preston county; George W. 
Summers of Kanawha county; General John J. Jackson of 
Wood county; Chester D. Hubbard of Ohio county, and 
Waitman T. Willey of Monongalia count} 7 . Willey was the 
leader of the leaders. He employed all the eloquence of 
which he was master, and all the reason and logic he could 
command to check the rush into what he clearly saw was 
disaster. No man of feeble courage could have taken the 
stand which he took in that convention. The agents from 
the states already in rebellion were in Richmond urging 
the people to cry out for secession, and the people were 
not unwilling agents in pushing the designs of the South- 
ern Confederacy. The convention held out for a month 
against the clamor, and so fierce became the populace that 
deleg-ates who opposed secession were threatened with 
personal assault and were in danger of assassination. The 
peril and the clamor induced many delegates who had been 
loyal to go over to the confederacy. But the majority held 
out in spite of threats, insults and dangers. In the front 
was General John J. Jackson, one of West Virginia's most 
venerable citizens. He was of the material which never 
turns aside from danger. A cousin of Stonewall Jackson, 
he had seen active service in the field before Stonewall was 
born. He had fought the Seminoles in Florida, and had 
been a member of General Andrew Jackson's staff. He 
had been intrusted by the government with important and 
dangerous duties before he was old enough to vote. He 
had traversed the wilderness on horseback and alone, be- 
tween Florida and Kentucky, performing- in this manner 
a circuitous journey of three thousand miles, much of it 
among the camps and over the hunting grounds of treach- 
erous Indians. Innured to dangers and accustomed to 
peril, he was not the man to flinch or give ground before 
the clamor and threats of the Richmond populace, aided 
and backed by the most fiery spirits of the south. He 



132 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



stood up for the union; spoke for if; urged the convention 
to pause on the brink of the abyss before taking- the leap. 
He risked his life for the honor of his state and country in 
those days of peril, and he stood to his guns until he saw 
that Virginia had taken the leap into the dark. Another 
heroic worker in the famous convention was Judge G. W. 
Summers of Charleston. He was in the city of Washing- 
ton attending- a ''Peace Conference" when he received news 
that the people of Kanawha county had elected him a dele- 
gate to the Richmond convention. He hurried to Rich- 
mond and opposed with all his powers the ordinance of 
secession. A speech which he delivered against that meas- 
ure has been pronounced the most powerful heard in the 
convention. 

On March 2 Mr. Willey made a remarkable speech in 
the convention. He announced that his purpose was not 
to reply to the arguments of the disunionists, but to de- 
fend the rigiit of free speech which Richmond, out of the 
halls of the convention and in, was trying- to stifle by 
threats and derision. He warned the people that when 
free speech is silenced liberty is no longer a realty, but a 
mere mockery. He then took up the secession question, 
althougii he had not intended to do so when he began speak- 
ing, and he presented in so forcible a manner the argu- 
ments against secession that he made a profound impres- 
sion upon the convention. During- the whole of that month 
the secessionists were baffled. They could not break 
down the opposition. Arguments had failed; threats had 
not succeeded. But on the other hand, the loyal members 
of the convention could not carry their point, and it was 
thus a deadlock until late in April. Secession then carried 
the day and Virginia, on April 17, 1861, took the plunge 
into the abyss, from which she was not to extricate herself 
until the flood of war, with ail its horrors and ruin, had 
swept over her and left her fields unbilled, her prosperity 
crushed and her homes desolate. 



THE ORDINANCE OF SECESSION. 133 

The next day, April 18, a number of delegates from 
Western Virginia declared that they would not abide by 
the action of the convention. Amid the roar of Richmond 
run mad, they began to consult among themselves what 
course to pursue. They w r ere watched by the seces- 
sionists, and it was evident that their season of usefulness 
in Virginia's capital was at an end. On April 20 several 
■of the West Virginians met secretly in a bed room of the 
Powhatan hotel and decided, that nothing more could be. 
done by them at Richmond to hinder or defeat the seces- 
sion movement. They agreed to return home and urge 
their constituents to vote .against the ordinance of seces- 
sion at the election set for May 24. They began to depart 
for their homes. Some had gotten safely out of Richmond 
and beyond the reach of the confederates before it became 
known that the western delegates were leaving. Others 
were still in Richmond, and a plan was formed to keep 
them prisoners in the city; not in jail, but the} 7 were re- 
quired to obtain passes from the governor before leaving 
the city- It was correctly surmised that the haste shown 
by. these delegates in taking their departure was due to 
their determination to stir up opposition to the ordinance 
of secession in the western part of the state. But when 
it was learned that most of the western delegates had 
already left Richmond, it was deemed unwise to detain the 
few who yet remained, and they were permitted to depart, 
which they did without loss of time. 

The passage of the ordinance of secssionwas a farce, so 
far as the leaders who pushed it through the convention 
were concerned. They intended to drag or drii^e Virginia 
into the Southern Confederacy, no matter whether the 
ordinance carried or not. They laid great stress on being 
constitutional in what they did in seceding from the union; 
but they violated both the letter and the spirit of their 
state constitution when they called a convention for pur- 
poses of secession; when they kept that ordinance a secret 



134 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



for many days after its passage; when they acted upon it 
as though it had been ratified by the people, not only be- 
fore it had been voted upon, but before the people of Vir- 
ginia knew that such a thing- as an ordinance of secession 
was in existence. It was passed in secret session. It was 
kept secret for several days, There are crises in human 
affairs when men may act contrary to the strict letter of 
the law 7 , when the end clearly justifies the means, and 
when the end can be reached by no other means. Every 
individual man may at some time in his life be called upon, 
in a sudden and momentous emergency, to become a law 
unto himself; and bodies of men may meet similar emer- 
gencies; and if they are right, no injustice will result. 
But the emergency had not come to the state of Virginia 
which justified the dragging of that state into the Southern 
Confederacy without the knowledge or consent of the 
people. 

Before the people knew that an ordinance of secession 
had passed, the convention began to levy war upon the 
United States. Before the seal of secrecy had been re- 
moved from the proceedings of that body, large appropri- 
ations for military purposes had been made. Officers were 
appointed, troops were armed; forts and arsenals belong- 
ing to the general government had been seized. The 
arsenal at Harper's Ferry and that at Norfolk had fallen 
before attacks of Virginia troops before the people of that 
state knew that they were no longer regarded as citizens 
of the United States. Nor was this all. The convention, 
still in secret session, without the knowledge or consent of 
the people of Virginia, had annexed that state to the 
Southern Confederacy. It was all done with the presump- 
tion that the people of the state would sustain the ordi- 
nance of secession when they had learned of its existence 
and when they were given an opportunity to vote upon it. 
In fact, it was a part of the conspiracy that the convention 
should see to it that the' ordinance was sustained at the 



THE ORDINANCE OF SECESSION. 



135 



polls. Every precaution was taken to that end. The 
election came May 24, 1861; and before that day there were 
thirty thousand soldiers in the state east of the Allegha- 
nies, and troops had been pushed across the mountains 
into Western Virgina. The majority of votes cast in the 
state were in favor of ratifying- the ordinance of secession; 
but West Virginia voted against it. Eastern Virginia was 
carried by storm. The excitement was intense. The cry 
was for war, if any attempt should be made to hinder Vir- 
ginia's going' into the Southern Confederacy. Many men 
whose sober judgment was opposed to secession, were 
swept into it by their surroundings. That portion of the 
state of Virginia lying- east of the Alleghanies would prob- 
ably have voted for secession had no troops come up from 
the south to assist by their presence the spread of disloy- 
alty. As it was, few men cared to vote against that measure 
while confederate bayonets were gleaming around the polls. 
Before the day of election the g-eneral government had 
taken steps to invade Virginia. The President had called 
for seventy-five thousand volunteers. Federal troops had 
' crossed, or were preparing* to cross, the Potomac to seize 
Arling-ton heights and Alexandria; and when the time came 
for voting, the war had begun, and Virginia became one of 
the states of the Southern Confederacy. 



CHAPTER X, 

»o« 

THE REORGANIZED GOVERNMENT. 

The officers and visible government of Virginia abdi- 
cated when they joined the Southern Confederacy. The 
people reclaimed and resumed their sovereignty after it 
had beeen abdicated by their regularly constituted 
authorities. This right belongs to the people and can not 
be taken from them. A public servant is elected to keep 
and exercise this sovereignty in trust; but he can do no 
more. When he ceases doing this, the sovereignty re- 
turns, whence it came, — to the people. When Virginia's 
public officials seceded from the United States and joined 
the Southern Confederacy, they carried with them their 
individual persons, and nothing more. The loyal people 
of the state were deprived of none of the rig-hts of self- 
government; but their government was left, for the time 
being-, without officers to execute it and give it form. In 
brief, the people of Virginia had no government, but had 
a right to a government, and they proceeded to create one 
by choosing officers to take the place of those who had 
abdicated. This is all there was m the reorganization of 
the government of Virginia; and it was done by citizens of 
the United States, proceeding under that clause in the 
constitution of the Umited States which declares: "The 
United States shall guarantee to every state in this union 
a Republican form of government." 

The government of Virginia was reorganized; the state 

of West Virginia was created; and nothing was done in 

violation of the strictest letter and spirit of the United 

States constitution. The steps were as follows, stated briefly 
10 



THE REORGANIZED GOVERNMENT. 



137 



here, but more in detail elsewhere in this book. The loyal 
people of Virginia reclaimed and resumed their sovereignty 
and reorganized their government. This government, 
through its legislature, gave its consent for the creation of 
West Virginia from a part of Virginia's territory. Dele- 
gates elected by the people of the proposed new state pre- 
pared a constitution. The people of the proposed new 
state adopted this constitution. Congress admitted the 
state. The President issued a proclamation declaring 
West Virginia to be one of the United States. This state 
came into the union in the same manner and by the same 
process and on the same terms as all other states. The 
details of the reorganization of the Virginia state govern- 
ment will now be set forth more in detail. 

When Virginia passed the ordinance of secession, the 
territory now forming West Virginia refused to acquiesce 
in that measure. The vote on the ordinance in West Vir- 
ginia was about ten to one against it, or forty thousand 
against to four thousand for. In some of the counties there 
were more than twenty to one against secession. The 
sentiment was very strong, and it soon took shape in the 
form of mass meetings which were largely attended. 
When the delegates from West Virginia arrived home 
from the Richmond convention, and laid before their con- 
stituents the true state of affairs, there was an immediate 
movement having for its object the nullification of the ordi- 
nance. Although the people of Western Virginia had long 
wanted a new state, and although a very general sentiment 
favored an immediate movement toward that end, yet a 
conservative course was pursued. Haste and rashness 
gave way to mature judgment; and the new state move- 
ment took a course strictly constitutional. The Virginia 
government was first reorganized. That done, the consti- 
tution of the United States provided a way for creating the 
new state; for when the reorganized government was 
recognized by the United States, and when a legislature 



138 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

had been elected, that legislature could give its consent to 
the formation of a new state from a portion of Virginia's 
territory, and the way was thereby provided for the accom- 
plishment of the object. 

On the da} T the ordinance of secession was passed, April 
17, 1861, and before the people knew what had been done, 
a mass meeting was held at Morgantown which adopted 
resolutions declaring that Western Virginia would remain 
in the union. A division of the state was suggested in case 
the eastern part should vote to join the confederacy. A 
meeting in Wetzel county, April 22, voiced the same senti- 
ment; and similar meetings were held in Taylor, Wood, 
Jackson, Mason and elsewhere. But the movement took 
definite form at a mass meeting of the citizens of Harrison 
county held at Clarksburg, April 22, which was attended 
by twelve hundred men. Not only did this meeting pro- 
test against the course which was hurrying Virginia out 
of the union, but a line of action was suggested for check- 
ing the secession movement, at least in the western part 
of the state. A call was sent out for a general meeting to 
be held in Wheeling, May 13. The counties of Western 
Virginia were asked to elect their wisest men to this con- 
vention. Its objects were stated in general terms to be 
the discussion of ways and means for providing for the 
state's best interests in the crisis which had arrived. 

Twenty-five counties responded, and the delegates who 
assembled in Wheeling on May 13 were representatives of 
the people, men who were determined that the portion of 
Virginia west of the Alle^hanv mountains should not be 
dragged into a war against the union without the consent 
and against the will of the people. Hampshire and Berke- 
ley counties, east of the Allegmanies, sent delegates Many 
of the men who attended the convention were the best 
known west of the Alleghanies, and in the subsequent his- 
tory of West Virginia their names have become household 
words. The roll of the convention was as follows: 



THE REORGANIZED GOVERNMENT. 139 



Barbour county — Spencer Dayton, E. H. Manafee, J. H. 
Shuttle worth. 

Berkeley county— J. W. Dailey, A. R. McQuilkin, J. S. 
Bowers. 

Brooke county — M. Walker, Bazael Wells, J. D. Nichols, 
Eli Green, John G. Jacob, Joseph Gist, Robert Nichols, 
Adam Kuhn, David Hervy, Campbell Tarr, Nathaniel 
Wells, J. R. Burg-oine, James Archer, Jesse Edging-ton, R. 
L. Jones, James A. Campbell. 

Doddridge county — S. S. Kinney, J. Cheverout, J. Smith, 
J. P. F. Randolph, J. A. Foley. 

Hampshire county — George W. Broski, O. D. Downey, 
Dr. B. B. Shaw, George W. Sheetz, George YV r . Rizer. 

Hancock county — Thomas Anderson, Yv T . C. Murray, 
William B. Freeman, George M. Porter, W. L. Crawford, 
L. R. Smith, J. C. Crawford, B. J. Smith, J. L. Freeman, 
John Gardner, George Johnston, J. S. Porter, James Stev- 
enson, J. S. Pomeroy, R. Breneman, David Donahoo, D. S. 
Nicholson, Thayer Melvin, James H. Pug-h, Ewing Turner, 
H. Farnsworth, James G. Marshall, Samuel Freeman, John 
Mahan, Joseph D. Allison, John H. Atkinson, Jonathan Al- 
lison, D. C. Pug-h, A. Moore, Yfilliam Brown, William 
Hewitt, David Jenkins. 

Harrison county— W. P. Goff, B. F. Shuttleworth, Wil- 
liam Duncan, L. Bowen, William E. Lyon, James Lynch, 
John S. Carlisle, Thomas L. Moore, John J. Davis, S. S. 
Fleming, Felix S. Sturm. 

Jackson county — G. L. Kennedy, J. V. Rowley, A. 
Flesher, C. M. Rice, D. Woodruff, George Leonard, J. F. 
Scott. 

Levvis county— A. S. Withers, F. M. Chalfant, J. W. 
Hudson, P. M. Hale, J. Woofter, J. A. J. Lightburn, W. L. 
Grant. 

Marshall county — Thomas Wilson, Lot Enix, John Wil- 
son, G. Hubbs, John Ritchie, J. W. Boner, J. Alley, S. B. 
Stidger, Asa Browning, Samuel Wilson, J. McCondell, A. 



140 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Bonar, D. Price, D. Roberts, G. W. Evans, Thomas Dowler, 
R. Alexander, E. Conner, John Withers, Charles Snediker, 
Joseph McCombs, Alexander Kemple, J. S. Rig-g-s, Alfred 
Gaines, V. P. Gorby, Nathan Fish, A. Francis, William 
Phillips, S. Ingram, J. Garvin, Dr. Marshman, William 
Luke, William Baird, J. Winders, F. Clement, James 
Campbell, J. B. Hornbrook, John Parkinson, John H. 
Dickey, Thomas Morrissa, W. Alexander, John Laug-hlin, 
W. T. Head, J. S. Parriott, W. J. Purdy, H. C. Kemple, 
R. Swan, John Reynolds, J. Hornbrook, William McFar- 
land, G. W. Evans, W. R. Kimmons, William Collins, R. C. 
Holliday, J. B. Morris, J. W. McCarriher, Joseph Turner, 
Hiram McMechen, E. H. Caldwell, James Garvin, L. Gard- 
ner, H. A. Francis, Thomas Dowler, John R. Morrow, Wil- 
liam Wasson, N. Wilson, Thomas Morg-an, S. Dorsey, R. 
B. Hunter. 

Monong-alia county — Waitman T. Willey, William Lazier, 
James Evans, Leroy Kramer, W. E. Hanaway, Elisha 
Coombs. H. Dering-, Georg-e McNeeley, H. N. Mackey, 
E. D. Fog-le, J. T. M. Laskey, J. T. Hess, C. H. Burg-ess, 
John Bly, William Price, A, Brown, J. R. Boug-hner, W. 
B. Shaw, P. L. Rice, Joseph Jolliff, William Anderson, E. 
P. St. Clair, P. T. Lashley, Marshall M. Dent, Isaac Scott, 
Jacob Miller, D. B. Dorsey, Daniel White, N. C. Vander- 
vort, A. Derranet, Amos S. Bowlsby, Joseph Snyder, J. A. 
Wiley, John McCarl, A. Garrison, E. B. Tag-g-art, E. P. 
Finch. 

Marion county — F. H. Pierpont, Jesse Shaw, Jacob 
Streams, Aaron Hawkins, James C. Beatty, William Beatty, 
J. C. Beeson, R. R. Brown, J. Holman, Thomas H. Bains, 
Hiram Haymond, H. Merryfield, Joshua Carter, G. W. 
Joliff, John Chisler, Thomas Houg-h. 

Mason county — Lemuel Harpold, W. E. Wetzel, Wyatt 

Willis, John Goodley, Joseph McMachir, William Harper, 

William Harpold, Samuel Davies, Daniel Polsley, J. N. 

Jones, Samuel Yeager, R. C. M. Lovell, Major Brown, 
11 



THE REORGANIZED GOVERNMENT. 141 



John Greer, A. Stevens, W. C. Starr, Stephen Comstock, 
J. M. Phelps, Charles B. Wag-gener, Asa Brig-ham, David 
Rossin, B. J, Rollins, D. C. Sayre, Charles Bumgardner, 
E. B. Davis, William Hopkins, A. A. Rogers, John O. 
Butler, Timothy Russell, John Hall. 

Ohio county— J. C. Orr, L. S. Delaplain, J. R. Stifel, G. 
L. Cranmer, A. Bedillion, Alfred Caldwell, John McClure, 
Andrew Wilson, George Forbes, Jacob Berger, John C. 
Hoffman, A. J. Woods, T. H. Logan, James S. Wheat, 
George W. Norton, N. H. Garrison, James Paull, J. M. 
Bickel, Robert, Crangle, Georg-e Bowers, John K. Bots- 
ford, L. D. Waitt, J. Hornbrook, S. Water house, A. Hand- 
Ian, J. W. Paxton, S. H. Woodward, C. D. Hubbard, 
Daniel Lamb, John Stiner, W. B. Curtis, A. F. Ross, A. B. 
Caldwell, J. R. Hubbard, E. Buchanon, John Pierson, T. 
Witham, E. McCaslin. 

Pleasants county — Friend Cochran, James Williamson, 
Robert Parker, R. A. Cramer. 

Preston county— R. C. Crooks, H. C. Hagans, W. H. 
King-, James W. Brown, Summers McCrum, Charles 
Hooten, William P. Fortney, James A. Brown, G. H. Kidd, 
John Howard. D. A. Letzinger, W. B. Linn, W. J. Brown, 
Reuben Morris. 

Ritchie county— D. Rexroad, J. P. Harris, N. Rexroad, 
A. S. Cole. 

Roane county — Irwin C. Stump. 

Taylor county — J. Means, J. M. Wilson, J. Kennedy, 
J. J. Warren, T. T. Monroe, G. R. Latham, B. Bailey, J. J. 
Allen, T. Gather, John S. Burdette. 

Tyler county — Daniel Sweeney, V. Smith, W. B. Kerr, 
D. D. Johnson, J. C. Parker, William Pritchard, D. King-, 
S. A. Hawkins, James M. Smith, J. H. Johnson, Isaac 
Davis. 

Upshur county — C. P. Rohrbaugh, W. H. Williams. 
Wayne county — C. Spurlock, F, Moore, W. W. Br u in- 
field, W. H. Copley, Walter Queen. 



142 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Wirt county — E. T. Graham, Henry Newman, B. Ball. 

Wetzel county — Elijah Morgan, T. E. Williams, Joseph, 
Murphy, William Burrows, B. T. Bowers, J. R. Brown, J. 
M. Bell, Jacob Young-, Reuben Martin, R. Reed, R. S. 
Sayres, W. D, Welker, Georg-e W. Bier, Thomas Mc- 
Quown, John Alley, S. Stephens, R. W. Lauck, John Mc- 
Claskey, Richard Cook, A McEldowney, B. Vancamp. 

Wood county — William Johnston, W. H. Baker, A. R. 
Dye, V. A. Dunbar, G. H. Ralston, S. M. Peterson, S. D. 
Compton, J. E. Padg-ett, Georg-e Loomis, Georg-e W. 
Henderson, E. Deem, N. H. Colston, A. Hinckley, Bennett 
Cook, S. S. Spencer, Thomas Leach, T. E. McPherson, 
Joseph Dag-g-, N. W. Warlow, Peter Riddle, John Paug-h, 
S. L. A. Burche, J. J. Jackson, J. D. Ingram, A. Laug-hin, 
J. C. Rathbone, W. Vroman, G.-E. Smith, D. K. Baylor, 
M. Woods, Andrew Als, Jesse Burche, S. Og-den, Sardis 
Cole, P. Reed, John McKibben. W. Athey, C. 
Hunter, R. H. Burke, W. P. Davis, Georg-e Compton, C. 
M. Cole, Rog-er Tiffins, H. Rider, B. H. Bukey, John W. 
Moss, R. B. Smith, Arthur Drake, C. B. Smith, A. Mather, 
A. H. Hatcher, W. E. Stevenson, Jesse Murdock, J. 
Burche, J. Morrison, Henry Cole, J. G. Blackford, C. J. 
Neal, T. S. Conley, J. Barnett, M. P. Amiss, T. Hunter, 
J. J. Neal, Edward Hoit, N. B. Caswell, Peter Dils, W. F. 
Henry, A. C. McKinsey, Rufus Kinnard, J. J. Jackson Jr. 

The convention assembled to take whatever action mijjfht 
seem proper, but no definite plan had been decided upon, 
further than that Western Virg-inia should not go into se- 
cession with Virg-inia. The majority of the members 
looked forward to the formation of a new state as the ulti- 
mate and chief purpose of the convention. Time and care 
were necessary for the accomplishment of this object. 
But there were several, chief among- whom was John S. 
Carlisle, who boldly proclaimed that the time for forming- 
the new state was at hand. There was a sharp division in 
the convention as to the best method for attaining- that end. 



THE REORGANIZED GOVERNMENT. 143 



While Carlisle led those who were for immediate action, 
Waitman T. Willey was among- the foremost of those who 
insisted that the business must be conducted in a business- 
like way, first by reorganizing the goverment of Virginia, 
and then obtaining- the consent of the legislature to divide 
the state. Mr. Carlisle actually introduced a measure pro- 
viding- for a new state at once, and it met with much favor. 
But Mr. Willey aud others pointed out that precipitate ac- 
tion would defeat the object in view, because congress 
would never recog-nize the state so created. After much 
controversy, there was a compromise reached, which was 
not difficult where all parties aimed at the greatest g-ood, 
and differed only as to the best means of attaining- it. 

At that time the ordinance of secession had not been 
voted upon. Virginia had already turned over to the South- 
ern Confederacy all its military supplies, public property, 
troops and materials, stipulating- that, in case the ordi- 
nance of secession should be defeated at the polls, the 
property should revert to the state. The Wheeling* con- 
vention took steps, pending-, the election, recommend 
ing- that, in case secession carried at the polls, a con- 
vention be held for the purpose of deciding what to do — 
whether to divide the state or simply reorganize the gov- 
ernment. This was the compromise measure which was 
satisfactory to both parties of the convention. Until the 
ordinance of secession had been ratified by the people, 
Virginia was still, in law, if not in fact, a member of the 
Federal union, and any step was premature looking to a 
division of the state or a reorganization of its goverment 
before the election. F. H. Pierpont, afterwards governor, 
introduced the resolution which provided for another con- 
vention in case the ordinance of secession was ratified at 
the polls. The resolution provided that the counties rep- 
resented in the convention, and all other counties of Vir- 
ginia disposed to act with them, appoint on June 4, 1861, 
delegates to a convention to meet June 11. This conven- 



144 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



tion would then be prepared to proceed to business, 
whether that business was the reorganization of the gov- 
ernment of Virginia or the dividing- of the state, or both. 
Having- finished its work, the convention adjourned. It 
had saved the state from anarchy. It had org-anized a 
nucleus around which a stable and adequate government 
was built. It made a g-ood beginning-. Had it rashly at- 
tempted to divide the state at that time the effort must 
have failed, and the bad effects of the failure, and the con- 
sequent confusion, would have been far reaching - . No man 
can tell whether such a failure would not have defeated for 
all time the creation of West Virginia from Virginia's 
territory. 

The vote on the ordinance of secession took place May 
23, 1861, and the people of eastern Virginia voted to g-o 
out of the Union, but the part now comprising- West Vir- 
ginia gave a large majority against seceding. Delegates 
to the assembly of Virginia were elected at the same time. 
Great interest was now manifested west of the Allegha- 
nies in the subject of anew state. Delegates to the sec- 
ond Wheeling convention were elected June 4, and met 
June 11, 1861. The members of the first convention had 
been appointed by mass meetings and otherwise; but 
those of the second convention had been chosen by the 
suffrage of the people. Thirty counties were represented 
as follows: 

Barbour county — N. H. Taft, Sp'encer Dayton, John H. 
Shuttleworth. 

Brooke county — W. H. Crothers, Joseph Gist, John D. 
Nichols, Campbell Tarr. 

Cabell county — Albert Laidly was entered on the roll 
but did not serve. 

Doddridge county — James A. Foley. 

Gilmer county — Henry H. Withers. 

Hancock county — George M. Porter, John H. Atkinson, 
William L. Crawford. 

12 



THE REORGANIZED GOVERNMENT. 145 



Harrison county — John J. Davis, Chapman J. Stewart, 
John C. Vance, John S. Carlisle, Solomon S. Fleming-, Lot 
Bowers, B. F. Shuttleworth. 

Hardy county — John Michael. 

Hampshire county — James Carskadon, Owen J. Downey, 
James J. Barracks, G. W. Broski, James H. Trout. 

Jackson county — Daniel Frost, Andrew Flesher, James 
F. Scott. 

Kanawha county— Lewis Runmer, Greenbury Slack. 

Lewis county — J. A. J. Lig-htburn, P. M. Hale. 

Monongalia county — Joseph Snyder, Leroy Kramer, R. 
L. Berkshire, William Price, James Evans, D. B. Dorsey. 

Marion county — -James O. Watson, Richard Fast, Fon- 
tain Smith, Francis H. Pierpont, John S. Barnes, A. F. 
Ritchie. 

Marshall county— C. II. Caldwell, Robert Morris, Re- 
membrance Swan. 

Mason county — Lewis Wetzel, Daniel Polsley, C. B. 
Wag-g-ener. 

Ohio county — Andrew Wilson, Thomas H. Log-an, Daniel 
Lamb, James W. Paxton, C-eorg-e Harrison, Chester D. 
Hubbard. 

Pleasant counter — James W. Williamson, C. W. Smith. 
Preston county— William Zinn, Charles Hooten, William 
B. Crane, John Howard, Harrison Hag-ans, John J. Brown. 
Ritchie county — William H. Douglass. 
Randolph county — Samuel Crane. 
Roane county — T. A. Roberts. 
Tucker county — Solomon Parsons. 

Taylor county — L. E. Davidson, John S. Burdette, Sam- 
uel B. Todd. 

Tyler county — -William I. Boreman, Daniel D. Johnson. 
Upshur county — John Love, John L. Smith, D. D. T. 
Farnsworth. 

Wayne county — William Radcliff, William Copley, W. 
W. Brumfield. 



146 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

Wetzel county — James G. West, Reuben Martin, James 
P. Ferrell. 

Wirt county — James A Williamson, Henry Newman, E. 
T. Graham. 

Wood county — John W. Moss, Peter G. Van Winkle, 
Arthur I. Bore man. 

James T. Close and H. S. Martin of Alexandria, and John 
Hawxhurst and E. E. Mason of Fairfax, were admitted as 
delegates, while William F. Mercer of Loudoun, and Jona- 
than Roberts of Fairfax, were rejected because of the in- 
sufficiency of their credentials. Arthur I. Boreman was 
elected president of the convention, G. L. Cranmer, secre- 
tary, and Thomas Hornbrook, sergeant-at-arms. 

On June 13, two days after the meeting- of the conven- 
tion, a committee on order of business reported a declara- 
tion by the people of Virginia. This document set forth 
the acts of the secessionists of Virginia, declared them 
hostile to the welfare of the people, done in violation of the 
constitution, and therefore null and void. It- was further 
declared that all onices in Virginia, whether legislative, 
judicial or executive, under the government set up by the 
convention which passed the ordinance of secession, were 
vacant. The next day the convention began the work of 
reorganizing- the state g-overnment on the following- lines: 
A g-overnor, lieutenant governor and attorney g-eneral for 
the state of Virginia were to be appointed by the conven- 
tion to hold ohi.ce until their successors should be elected 
and qualified, and the legislature was required to provide 
by law for the election of a governor and lieutenant gov- 
ernor by the people. A council of state, consisting of five 
members, was to be appointed to assist the governor; their 
term of ofhce to expire at the same time as that of the gov- 
ernor. Delegates elected to the legislature on May 23, 
1861, and senators entitled to seats under the laws then 
existing, and who would take the oath as required, were to 
constitute the reorganized legislature, and were required 



THE REORGANIZED GOVERNMENT. 



147 



to meet in Wheeling- on the first day of the following July. 
A test oath was required of all officers, whether state, 
county or municipal. 

On June 20 the convention proceeded to choose officers. 
Francis H. Pierpont was elected governor of Virginia; 
Daniel Polsley was elected lieutenant g-overnor; James 
Wheat was chosen attorney. general. The governor's coun- 
cil consisted of Daniel Lamb, Peter G. Van Winkle, Wil- 
liam Lazier, William A. Harrison and J. T. Paxton. The 
legislature was required to elect an auditor, treasurer and 
secretary of state as soon as possible. This closed the 
work of the convention, and it adjourned the same day to 
meet again August 6. 

A new government existed for Virginia. The legisla- 
ture which "was to assemble in Wheeling in ten days could 
complete the work. . * 

This legislature of Virginia, consisting of thirty-one 
members, began its labors immediately upon organizing, 
July 1. A message from Governor Pierpont laid before 
that body the condition of affairs and indicated certain 
measures which ougiit to be carried out. On July 9 the 
legislature elected L. A. Hagans of Preston county, secre- 
tary of Virginia; Samuel Crane of Randolph count} 7- , audi- 
tor; and Campbell Tarr of Brooke county, treasurer. Wait- 
man T. Willey and John S. Carlisle were elected to the 
United States senate. 

The convention which had adjourned June 20 met again 
August 6 and took up the work of dividing Virginia, whose 
government had been reorganized and was in working 
order. The people wanted a new state and the machinery 
for creating it was set in motion. On July 20 an ordinance 
was passed calling for an election to take the sense of the 
people on the question, and to elect members to a consti- 
tutional convention at the same time. In case the vote 
favored a new state, the men elected to the constitutional 



148 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



convention were to meet and frame a constitution. The 
convention adjourned August 2, 1861. Late in October 
the election was held, with the result that the vote stood 
about twentv-five to one in favor of a new state. 



CHAPTER XL 

«o» 

FORMATION OF WEST VIRGINIA, 

The reorganized government of Virginia made all 
things ready for the creation of the new "commonwealth. 
The people of Western Virginia had waited long for the 
opportunity to divide the state. The tyranny of the more 
powerful eastern part had been borne half a century. 
When at last the war created the occasion, the people were 
not slow to profit by it, and to bring a new state into ex- 
istence. The work began in earnest August 20, 1861, 
when the second Wheeling convention called upon the peo- 
ple to vote on the question; and the labor was completed 
June 20, 1363, when the officers of the new state took 
charge of affairs. One year and ten months were re- 
quired for the accomplishment of the work; and this chap- 
ter gives an outline of the proceedings relative to the new 
state during* that time. It was at first proposed to call the 
state Kanawha; but the name was changed in the consti- 
tutional convention at Wheeling on December 3, 1861, to 
West Virginia. On February 18, 1852, the constitutional 
convention adjourned, subject to the call of the chairman. 
In April of that yesr the people of the state voted upon the 
ratihcatien of the constitution; and the vote in favor of rati- 
fication was 18,362, and against it, 514. Governor Pier- 
pout issued a proclamation announcing- the result, and at 
the same time called an extra session of tbe Virginia legis- 
lature to meet in Wheeling- May 6. That body met, and 
six days later passed an act by which it gave its consent 
to a division of the state of Virginia and the creation of a 
new state. This was done in order that the constitution 



150 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



might be complied with; for, before the state could be di- 
vided, the legislature must give its consent. It yet re- 
mained for West Virginia to be admitted into the union 
t>y an act of congress and by the president's proclamation. 
Had there been no opposition and had there not been such a 
press of other business this might have been accomplished 
in a few weeks. As it was there was a long and bitter con- 
test in the senate. The opposition did not come so much 
from outside the state as from the state itself. John S. 
Carlisle, one of the senators elected by the legislature of 
the reorganized ^government of Virginia at Wheeling, was 
supposed to be friendly to the cause of the new state; but 
when he was put to the test it was found that he was 
strongly opposed to it, and he did all in his power to defeat 
the movement, and almost accomplished his purpose. The 
indignation in W estern Virginia was great. The legisla- 
ture, in session at Wheeling, on December 12, 1862, by a 
resolution, requested Carlisle to resign the seat he held in 
the senate. He refused, to do so. He had been one of the 
most active advocates of the movement for the new state 
while a member of the first Wheeling* convention, in May, 
1861, and had been a leader in the new state movement be- 
fore and after that date. Why he changed, and opposed 
the admission of West Virginia by congress has never 
been satisfactorily explained. 

One of the reasons given for his opposition, and one 
which he himself put forward, was that congress attempted 
to amend the state constitution on the subject of slavery, 
and he opposed the admission of the state on that ground. 
He claimed that lie would rather have no new state than 
have it saddled with a constitution, a portion of which its 
people had never ratified. But this could not have been 
the sole cause of Carlisle's opposition. He tried to defeat 
the bill after the proposed objectionable amendment to the 
constitution had been satisfactorily arranged. He fought 
it in a determined manner till the last. He had hindered 



FORMATION OF WEST VIRGINIA. 151 



the work of getting- the bill before congress before any 
change in the state constitution had been proposed. 

The members in congress from the reorganized govern- 
ment of Virginia were William G. Brown, Jacob B. Blair 
and K. V. Waley; in the senate, John S. Carlisle and Wait- 
man T. Willey. In addition to these gentlemen, the legis- 
lature appointed as commissioners to bring the matter be- 
fore congress, Ephraim B. Hall of Marion county, Peter 
Van Winkle of Wood county, John Hall of Mason county, 
and Elbert H. Caldwell of Marshall county. These com- 
missioners reached Washington May '22, 1862. There 
were several other well-known West Virginians who also 
went to Washington on their own account to assist in 
securing the new state. Among them were Daniel Pols- 
ley, lieutenant governor of West Virginia; Granville Parker 
and Harrison Hagans. There were members of congress 
and senators from other states who performed special ser- 
vice in the cause. The matter was laid before the United 
States Senate May 29, 1862, by Senator Willey, who pre- 
sented the West Virginia constitution recently ratified, 
and also the act of the legislature giving its consent to the 
creation of a new state within the jurisdiction of Virginia, 
and a memorial requesting the admission of the new state. 
In presenting these documents, Senator Willey addressed 
the senate and denied that the movement was simply to 
gratify revenge upon the mother state for seceding from 
the union and joining the Southern Confederacy; but, on 
the contrary, the people west of the Alleghanies had long 
wanted a new state, and had long suffered in consequence 
of Virginia's neglect, and of her unconcern for their wel- 
fare. Mr. Willey 's address was favorably received, and 
the whole matter regarding- the admission of West Vir- 
ginia was laid before the committee on territories, of which 
Senator John S. Carlisle was a member. It had not at that 
time been suspected that Carlisle was hostile to the move- 
ment. He was expected to prepare the bill. He neglected 



152 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



to do so until nearly a month had passed and the session 
of congress was drawing* to a close. But it was not SO' 
much the delay that showed, his hostility as the form of the 
bill. Had it been passed by congress in the form proposed, 
by Carlisle the defeat of the new state measure must have 
been inevitable. No one acquainted with the circum- 
stances and conditions had any doubt that the bill was pre- 
pared for the express purpose of defeating the wishes of 
the people by whom Mr. Carlisle had been sent to the sen- 
ate. It included in West Virginia, in addition to the coun- 
ties which had ratified the constitution, Alleg-hany, 
Augusta, Berkeley, Bath, Botetourt, Craig, Clark, Fred- 
erick, Highland, Jefferson, Page, Rockbridge, Rocking- 
ham, Shenandoah and Warren counties. The hostility In 
most of these counties was very great. The bill provided 
that these counties, in conjunction with those west of the 
Alleghanies, should elect deleg-ates to a constitutional con- 
vention and frame a constitution which should provide that 
all children born of slaves after 1863 should be free. This 
constitution was then to go back to the people of the sev- 
eral counties for ratification. Then, if the Virginia legis- 
lature should pass an act giving its consent to the creation 
of a new state from Virginia's territory, and the governor 
of Virginia certify the same to the president of the United 
States, he might make proclamation of the fact, and West 
Virginia would become a state without further proceedings 
by congress. 

Senator Carlisle knew that the .counties he had added 
east of the Alleghanies were opposed to the new state on 
any terms, and that they wouli oppose it the more deter- 
minedly on account of the gradual emancipation clause in 
it. He knew that they would not appoint deleg-ates to a 
constitutional convention, nor would they ratify the consti- 
tution should one be submitted to them. In short, they 
were strong enough in votes and sentiment to defeat the 
movement for a new state. All the work dene for the 



FORMATION OF WEST VIRGINIA. 153 



creation of West Virginia would have been thrown away 
had this bill prevailed. 

Three days later, June 26, the bill was called up, and 
Charles Sumner proposed an amendment regarding 
slavery. He would have no slavery at all. All indications 
were that the bill would defeat the measure for the new 
state, and preparations were made to begin the fight in a 
new quarter. Congressman William G. Brown of Preston 
county, proposed a new bill to be presented in the lower 
house. But the contest went on, In July Senator Y^illey 
submitted an amendment, which was really a new bill. It 
omitted the counties east of the Alleghanies, and provided 
that all slaves under twenty-one years of age on July 4, 
1863, should be free on arriving at that age. It now became 
apparent to Carlisle that his bill was dead, and that AYest 
Virginia was likely to be admitted. As a last resort, he 
proposed a postponement till December, in order to gain 
time, but his motion was lost. Carlisle then opposed the 
billon the grounds that if passed, it would impose upon 
the people of the new state a clause of the constitution not 
of their making and which they had not ratified. But this 
argument was deprived of its force by offering to submit 
the proposed amendment to the people of W est Virginia 
for their approval. Fortunately the constitutional conven- 
tion had adjourned subject, to the call of the chair. The 
members were convened; they included the amendment in 
the constitution, and the people approved it. However, 
before this was done, the bill took its course througdi con- 
gress. It passed the senate July 14, 1862, and w T as imme- 
diately sent to the lower house. But congress being about to 
adjourn, further consideration of the bill went over till the 
next session in December, 1862, and on the tenth of that 
month it was taken up in the house of representatives and 
after a discussion continuing most of the day, it was passed 
by a vote of ninety-six to fifty-live. 

The friends of the new state now felt that their efforts 



154 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



had been successful; but one more step was necessary, 
and the whole work might yet be rendered null and void. 
It depended on President Lincoln. He mig-ht veto the 
bill. He requested the opinion of his cabinet. Six of the 
cabinet officers complied, and three favored signing- the 
bill and three advised the president to veto it. Mr. Lin- 
coln took it under advisement. It was believed that he 
favored the bill, but there was much anxiety felt. Nearly 
two years before Mr. Lincoln, throug-h one of his cabinet 
officers, had promised Governor Pierpont to do all he 
could, in a constitutional way, for the reorganized govern- 
ment of Virginia; and that promise was construed to mean 
that the new state would not be opposed by the president. 
Mr. Lincoln was evidently undecided for some time what 
course to pursue, for he afterwards said that a telegram 
received by him from A. W. Campbell, editor of the 
"Wheeling- Intelligencer, largely influenced him in deciding* 
to sign the bill. On December 31, 1853, Congressman 
Jacob B. Blair called on the president to see if any action 
had been taken by the executive. The bill had not yet 
been signed, but Mr. Lincoln asked Mr. Blair to come back 
the next day. Mr. Blair did so, and was given the bill 
admitting- West Virginia into the Union. It was signed 
January 1, 1863. 

However, there was yet something to be done before 
West Virginia became a state, The bill passed by con- 
gress and signed by President Lincoln went no further 
than to provide that the new state should become a mem- 
ber of the Union when a clause concerning slavery, con- 
tained in the bill, should be made a part of the constitution 
and be ratified by the people. The convention which had 
framed the state constitution had adjourned to meet at the 
call of the chairman. The members came together on 
February 13, 1853. Two days later John S. Carlisle, who 
had refused to resign his seat in the senate when asked by 
t .: Virginia legislature to do so. made another effort to 



FORMATION OF WEST VIRGINIA. 



155 



defeat the will of the people whom he was sent to congress 
to represent. He presented a supplementary bill in the 
senate providing- that President Lincoln's proclamation ad- 
mitting- West Virginia be withheld until certain counties 
of West Virginia had ratified by their votes the clause re- 
garding slavery contained in the bill. Mr. Carlisle be- 
lieved that those counties would not ratify the constitu- 
tion. But his bill was defeated in the senate by a vote of 
28 to 12. 

The clause concerning slavery, as adopted by the con- 
stitutional convention on reassembling at Wheeling, was 
in these words: "The children of slaves, born within the 
limits of this state after the fourth day of July, 1S63, shall 
be free, and all slaves within the said state who shall, at 
the time aforesaid, be under the ag-e of ten years, shall be 
free when they arrive at the age of twenty-one years; and 
all slaves over ten and under twenty-one years, shall be 
free when they arrive at the age of twenty-five years; and 
no slave shall be permitted to come into the state for per- 
manent residence therein." The people ratified the con- 
stitution at an election held for that purpose. The 
majority in favor of ratification was seventeen thousand. 

President Lincoln issued his proclamation April 20, 
1863, and sixty days thereafter, that is Jane 20, 1863, West 
Virginia was to become a state without further legislation. 
In the meantime, May 9, a state convention assembled in 
Parkersburg to nominate officers. A confederate force 
under General Jones ad7anced within forty miles of Par- 
kersburg, and the convention hurried through with its 
labors and adjourned. It nominated Arthur I. Boreman 
of Wood county for g-overnor; Campbell Tarr of Brooke 
county for treasurer; Samuel Crane of Randolph county 
for auditor; Edgar J. Boyers of Tyler county, for secre- 
tary of state; A. B. Caldwell of Ohio county, attorney- 
general; for judges of the supreme court of appeals, Ralph 
L. Berkshire of. Monongalia county, James K. Brown of 



156 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Kanawha county, William A. Harrison of Harrison county. 
These were all elected late in the month of May, and on 
June 20, 1863, took the oath of ohice and West Virginia 
was a state. Thus was fulfilled the prophec}^ of Daniel 
Webster in 1851 when he said that, if Virginia took sides 
with a secession movement, the result would be the forma- 
tion of a new state from Virginia's transalleghany terri- 
tory. 

The creation of the new state of West Virginia did not 
put an end to the reorganized government of Virginia. 
The officers who had held their seat of government at 
Wheeling, moved to Alexandria, and in 1865, moved to 
Richmond where ther held office until their successors 
were elected. Governor Pierpont filled the gubernational 
chair of Virginia about seven years. 



CHAPTER XII 



«o» 

ORGANIZING FOR WAR, 

In a work of this sort it should not be expected that a 
full account of the civil war, as it affected West Virginia, 
will be given. It must suffice to present only an outline of 
events as they occurred in that great struggle, nor is any 
pretence made that this outline shall be complete, In deal- 
ing- with the military operations within the particular 
county under consideration, no effort has been spared to 
make the account as complete as possible; but, for the 
state at large, as the events concerned all the counties in 
general, only a synopsis can be given. Elsewhere in this 
volume will be found a narrative of the events leading- to 
and culminating- in the passag-e of the ordinance of seces- 
sion; the formation of the provisional government of Vir- 
ginia, and the creation of the new state of West Virginia 
and its admission into the Union. The vote on the ordi- 
nance of secession showed that a larg-e majority of the 
people in this state were opposed to a separation from the 
United States. This vote, while it could not have been 
much of a surprise to the politicians in the eastern part of 
Virginia, was a disappointment. It did not prevent Vir- 
ginia, as a state, from joining- the Southern Confederacy; 
but the result made it plain that Virginia was divided 
against itself, and that all the part west of the Alleghany 
mountains, and much of that west of the Blue Ridge, would 
not take up arms against the general government in fur- 
therance of the interests of the Southern Confederacy, 

It, therefore, became necessary for Virginia, backed by 
the other southern states, to conquer its own trans mon- 



158 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



tane territory. The commencement of the war in what i^ 
now West Virginia was due to an invasion by troops in the 
service of the Southern Confederacy, in an effort to hold 
the territory as a part of Virginia. It should not be un- 
derstood, however, that there was no sympathy with the 
south in this state. As nearly as can be estimated, the 
number w T ho took sides with the south, in proportion to 
those who upheld the union, w T as as one to six. The peo- 
ple generally were left to choose. Efforts were made at 
the same time to raise soldiers for the south and for the 
north, and those v/ho did not want to go one Way were at 
liberty to go the other. In the eastern part of the state 
considerable success was met in enlisting volunteers for 
the confederacy; but in the western counties there were 
hardly any who went south. That the government at 
Richmond felt the disappointment keenly is evidenced by 
the efforts put forth to organize companies of volunteers, 
and the discouraging reports of the recruiting' officers. 

Robert E. Lee was appointed commander-in-chief of the 
military and naval forces of Virginia, April 23, 1861; and 
on the same day he wrote to Governor Letcher accepting 
the office. Six days later he wrote Major A. Loring at 
Wheeling, urging him to muster into the service of the 
state all the volunteer companies in that vicinity, and to 
take command of them. Loring was asked to report what 
success attended his efforts. On the same day Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel John McCausland, at Richmond, received or- 
ders from General Lee to proceed at once to the Kanawha 
valley and muster into service the volunteer companies in 
that quarter. General Lee named four companies alreadv 
formed, two in Kanawha and two in Putnam counties, and 
he expressed the belief that others would offer their serv- 
ices, i McCausland was instructed to organize a company 
of artillery in the Kanawha valley. On the next day, April 
30, General Lee wrote to Major Boy kin at Weston, in Lewis 
county, ordering him to muster in the the volunteer com- 



ORGANIZING FOR WAR. 159 

paries in that part of the state, and to ascertain how many 
volunteers could be raised in the vicinity of Parkershurg-. 
General Lee stated in the letter that he had sent two hun- 
dred flint lock muskets to Colonel Jackson (Stonewall) at 
Harper's Ferry, for the use of the volunteers about 
Weston. He said no better g-uns could be had at that 
time. The next day, May 1, Governor Letcher announced 
that arrangements had been made for calling- out fifty 
thousand Virginia volunteers, to assemble at Norfolk, 
Richmond, Alexandria, Fredericksburg-, Harper's Ferry, 
Grafton, Parkersburg-, Kanawha, and Moundsville. On 
May 4, General Lee ordered Colonel George A. Porterneld 
to Grafton to ta.ke charge of the troops in that quarter, 
those already in service and those who were expected to 
volunteer. Colonel Porterfleld was ordered, by authority 
of the governor of Virg-inia, to call out the volunteers in 
the counties of Wood, Wirt, Roane, Calhoun, Gilmer, 
Ritchie, Pleasants and Doddridge, to rendezvous at Park- 
ersburg - ; and in the counties of Braxton, Lewis, Harrison, 
Monongalia, Taylor, Barbour, Upshur, Tucker, Marion, 
• Randolph and. Preston, to rendezvous at Grafton. General 
Lee said he did not know how many men could be enlisted, 
but he supposed five regiments could be mustered into 
service in that part of the state. 

In these orders sent out, General Lee expressed a desire 
to be kept informed of the success attending- the call for 
volunteers. Replies soon began to arrive at Richmond, 
and they were uniformly discouraging- to General Lee and 
the officers of the Southern Confederacy. It was very soon 
apparent that the people of Y/estern Virg-inia were not 
tumbling- over one another in their eagerness to take up 
arms for the Southern Confederacy. Major Boykin wrote 
General Lee that the call for volunteers was not meeting 
with success. To this letter General Lee replied on May 
11, and urg-ed Major Bcykin to persevere, and call out the 
companies for such counties as were not so hostile to the 



160 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



south, and to concentrate them at Grafton. He stated 
that four hundred rifles had been forwarded from Staun- 
ton to Beverly, in Randolph county, where Major Goff 
would receive and hold them until further orders. It ap- 
pears that Major Boykin bad requested that companies 
from other parts of the state be sent to Grafton to take 
the places of companies which had been counted upon to 
organize in the vicinity of Grafton, but which had failed to 
materialize. To this suggestion General Lee replied that 
he did not consider it advisable to do so; as the presence 
of outside companies at Grafton would tend to irritate the 
people, instead of conciliating them. 

On May 16 Colonel Porterfield had arrived at Grafton 
and had taken a hasty survey of the situation, and his con- 
clusion was that the cause of the Southern Confederacy in 
that vicinity was not promising*. On that day he made a 
report to R. S. Garnett, at Richmond, adjutant general of 
the Virginia army, and stated that the rifles ordered to 
Beverly from Staunton had not arrived, nor had they been 
heard from. It appears from this report that no volun- 
teers had yet assembled at Grafton; but Colonel Porter- 
field said a company was organizing at Pruntytown, in 
Taylor county; one at Weston, under Captain Boggess; one 
at Philippi, another at Clarksburg, and still another at 
Fairmont. Only two of these companies had guns, 
flintlocks, and no ammunition. At that time all of these 
companies had been ordered to Grafton. Colonel Porter- 
field said, in a tone of discouragement, that these com- 
panies, almost destitute of guns and ammunition, were all 
he had to depend upon, and he considered the force very 
weak compared with the strength of those in that vicinity 
who were prepared to oppose him. He said he had found 
much diversity of opinion and "rebellion" among* the peo- 
ple, who did not believe that the state was strong enough 
to contend against the general government. "I am, too, 
credibly informed," said he, "to entertain doubt that they 

13 



ORGANIZING FOR WAR. 



161 



have been and will be supplied with the means of resist- 
ance. * * * * Their efforts to intimidate have had their 
effect, both to dishearten one party and to encourage the 
other. Many good citizens have been dispirited, while 
traitors have seized the guns and ammunition of the state 
to be used against its authority. 'The force in this section 
will need the best rifles. * * * * There will not be the 
same use for the bayonet in these hills as elsewhere, and 
the movements should be of light infantry and rifle, 
although the bayonet, of course, would be desirable." 

About this time, that is, near the middle of May, 1861, 
General Lee ordered one thousand muskets sent to Beverly 
for the use of the volunteer companies organizing to the 
northward of that place. Colonel Heck was sent in charge 
of the guns, and General Lee instructed him to call out all 
the volunteers possible along the route from Staunton to 
Beverly. If the authorities at Richmond had learned by 
the middle of May that Western Virginia was not to be 
depended upon for filling with volunteers the ranks of the 
southern armies, the truth was still more apparent six 
weeks later. By that time General Garnett had crossed 
the Alleghanies in person, and had brought a large force 
of confederate troops with him and was entrenched at 
Laurel Hill and Rich Mountain, near Beverly. It had been 
claimed that volunteers had not joined the confederate com- 
panies because they were afraid to do so in the face of the 
stronger union companies organizing in the vicinity, but if 
a confederate army were in the country to overawe the ad- 
vocates of the union cause, then large numbers of recruits 
would organize to help the south. Thus Garnett marched 
over the Alleghanies and called for volunteers. The result 
was deeply mortifying to him as veil as discouraging to 
the authorities at Richmond. On June 25, 1861, he wrote 
to General Lee, dating his letter at Laurel Hill, between 
Beverly and Phiiippi. He complained that he could not 
find out what the movements of the union forces were 



162 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



likely to be, and added that the union men in that vicinity 
were much more active, numerous and zealous than the 
secessionists. He said it was like carrying- on a campaign 
in a foreig-n country, as the people were nearly all against 
him, and never missed an opportunity to divulge his move- 
ments to McClellan, but would give him no information of 
what McClellan was doing*. "My hope," he wrote to Lee, 
"of increasing- my force in this region has, so far, been 
sadly disappointed. Only eight men have joined me here, 
and only fifteen at Colonel Heck's camp — not enough to 
make up my losses by discharg-es. The people are thor- 
oughly imbued with an ignorant and bigoted union senti- 
ment." 

If more time was required to ascertain the sentiment in 
the Kanawha valley than had been necessary in the 
northern and eastern part of the state, it was nevertheless" 
seen in due time that the Southern Confederacy's sup- 
porters in that quarter were in a hopeless minority. 
General Henry A. Wise, ex-governor of Virginia, had 
been sent into the Kanawha valley early in 1861 to organize 
such forces as could be mustered for the southern army. 
He was one of the most fiery leaders in the Southern Con- 
federacy, and an able man, and of great influence. He 
had, perhaps, done more than any other man in Virginia to 
swing that state into the Southern Confederacy. He it 
was, when the ordinance of secession was in the balance 
in the Richmond convention, rose in the convention, drew 
a horsepistol from his bosom, placed it upon the desk be- 
fore him, and proceeded to make one of the most im- 
passioned speeches ever heard anywhere. The effect of 
his speech was tremendous, and Virginia wheeled into line 
with the other confederate states. General Wise hurried 
to the field, and was soon in the thick of the fight in the 
Kanawha valley. He failed to organize an army there, and 
in his disappointment and anger he wrote to General Lee, 
August 1, 1861 saying" "The Kanawha valley is wholly 



ORGANIZING FOR WAR. 



163 



disaffected and traitorous. It was gone from Charleston 
to Point Pleasant before I got there. Boone and Cabell 
are nearly as bad, and the state of thing's in Braxton, 
Nicholas and part of Greenbrier is awful. The militia are 
nothing- for warlike uses here. They are worthless, who 
are true, and there is no telling- who is true. You cannot 
persuade these people that Virginia can or will reconquer 
the northwest, and they are submitting-, subdued and 
.debased." General Wise made an urgent request for 
more g-uns, ammunition and clothing-. 

It may be stated as a matter of history that one of the 
first companies to uphold the cause of the Southern Con- 
federacy in this state, was at Clarksburg-, under the 
captaincy of Uriel M. Turner. It was organized in 
January, 1861, and at the fight at Philippi contained one 
hundred men. This company killed the first union soldier 
in the state, at Fetterman, Taylor county, May 24, 1861. It 
was in the whole war; fought in more than thirty hard 
battles; and of the one hundred men who received their 
baptism of fire at Philippi in 1861, only six surrendered at 
Appomattox in 1865. The town of Clarksburg contributed 
more toward the success of the south than any town in 
the whole country, in proportion to size. Not only did it 
furnish Stonewall Jackson, but it gave the confederacy 
twenty-six other officers, of lower rank. It may be said 
that Clarksburg was the war center of West Virginia. 
The strongest advocates of the union, and the most zealous 
adherents of the south came from that town and vicinity. 

While the confederates were doing their utmost to 
organize and equip forces in Western Virginia, and were 
meeting discouragements and failure nearly everywhere; 
the people who upheld the union were also at work, and 
success was the rule and failure almost unknown. As 
soon as the fact was realized that Virginia had joined the 
Southern Confederacy; had seized upon the government 
arsenals and other property within the state, and had 



164 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



commenced. war upon the government, and was preparing* 
to continue the hostilities, the people of Western Virginia, 
who had long- suffered from the injustice and oppression 
of the eastern part of the state, beg-an to prepare for war. 
They did not long- halt between two opinions, but at once 
espoused the cause of the United States. Companies were 
org-anized everywhere. The spirit with which the cause 
of the union was upheld was one of the most discouraging- 
features of the situation, as viewed by the confederates 
who were vainly trying* to raise troops in this part of the * 
state. The people in the Kanawha valley who told General 
Wise that they did not believe Virginia could reconquer 
Western Virginia, had reasons for their conclusions. The 
people along- the Ohio, the Kanawha, the Monong-ahela; in 
the interior, among" the mountains, were everywhere 
drilling- and arming-. Sometimes a company was organiz- 
ing- for the confederate service and one for the union 
service in the same vicinity at the same time. Occasionally 
there were collisions; usually not. This was particularly 
the case earlv in the war. At Clarksburg- in May, 1861, a 
company had drilled and armed for the confederate 
service, and was about to take the field. A union company 
was also org-anizing- and drilling- there, and they occupied 
the court house nig-ht about with the confederates. 
Finally, however, as the war grew more furious in the 
east, the two Clarksburg- companies could not occupy the 
same town without collision. The union company was the 
stronger, and compelled the confederates to surrender 
their arms. But on the next day the arms were restored 
to them on condition that they would leave the town at once. 
They did so, and marched to Grafton. This is the com- 
pany above spoken of which surrendered the six men at 
Appomattox. 

There was some delay and disappointment in securing- 
arms for the union troops as they were org-anized in West 
Virginia. Early in the war, while there was yet hope en- 



ORGANIZING FOR WAR. 



165 



tertained by some that the trouble could be adjusted with- 
out much fighting, there was hesitation on the part of the 
government about sending- guns into Virginia to arm one 
class of the people. Consequently, some of the first arms 
received in Western Virginia did not come directly from 
the government arsenals, but were sent from Massachu- 
setts. As early as May 7, 1861, a shipment of two thous- 
and stands of arms was made from the Watervleit arsenal s 
New York, to the northern panhandle of West Virginia, 
above Wheeling-. These g-uns armed some of the first 
soldiers from West Virginia that took the field. An effort 
had been made to obtain arms from Pittsburg-, but it 
was unsuccessful. Campbell Tarr, of Brooke county, and 
others, went to Washing-ton as a committee, and it was 
throug-h their efforts that the g-uns were obtained. The 
government officials were very cautious at that time lest 
they should do something without express warranty in law T . 
But Edwin M. Stanton advised that the guns be sent, 
promising that he would find the law for it afterwards. 
Governor Pierpont had written to President Lincoln for 
help, and the reply had been that all help that could be 
given under the constitution would be furnished. 



CHAPTER XIII, 



»o« 

COLONEL PORTERFiSLD'3 RETREAT. 

It has been seen what success attended the efforts of the 
Southern Confederacy to beat up recruits in West Vir- 
ginia. It has also been pointed out what other purpose 
prompted the early occupation of this state by the 
southern forces. It now remains to relate the first clash 
of arms west of the Alleghanies. Colonel Porterfield at 
Grafton was doing- all in his power to collect a rebel army 
at that point, and was sending- urgent appeals to Richmond 
for arms and ammunition, when the government of the 
United States set in motion its army recently organized in 
Ohio and Indiana. Up to this time, May, 1861, no heavy 
fighting had been done, and the war had only commenced. 
A synopsis of the chief events up to that time will show 
that the occupation of West Virginia by McClellan's army 
was the principal movement made by the government up 
to that time. 

April 17, 1861, ordinance of secession adopted by the 
Richmond convention. 

April 18, United States armory at Harper's Ferry seized 
by the confederates, after having been set on fire and aban- 
doned by the union troops. 

April, 19, A mob in Baltimore attacked union troops on 
their way to the defense of W ashington. 

April 20, General Butler's command arrived at Annap- 
olis, ready to march upon Baltimore. 

April 23, General Robert E. Lee was appointed to the 
command of the land and naval forces of Virginia. 

April 27, Stonewall Jackson, of Clarksburg, was sent to 



COLONEL PORTERFIELD'S RETREAT. 167 



Harper's Ferry to command the Virginia troops in that 
vicinity. 

May 1, The governor of Virginia called for volunteers to 
make war upon the United States. 

May 3, An additional call for volunteers was made by 
the governor of Virginia, and sent to all the commanding 
officers in W estern Virginia. 

May 4, Colonel G. A. Porterfield was assigned to the 
command of the state forces in northwestern Virginia, by 
the government at Richmond. 

May 5, The Virginia troop -3 abandoned Alexandria. 

May 9. Fight between the confederate batteries of 
Glouster point, Virg-inia, and the United States steamer 
" Yankee." 

May 13, General Butler and United States troops occu- 
pied Baltimore. 

May 13, General McClellan was appointed to the com- 
mand of the Ohio, including West Virginia. 

May 14, Seizure of a train of cars at Harper's Ferry by 
the Virginia troops. 

May 15. General Joseph E. Johnston, of the confederate 
army, appointed to the command of the troops near Har- 
per's Ferry. 

May 18, Fight at Sewell's Point. 

May 24, United States troops crossed the Potomac near 
Washing-ton and took possession of Alexandria and Arling- 
ton Heights. 

May 26 to 30, Colonel Kelley with troops from Wheeling, 
and McClellan's army from Ohio and Indiana moved upon 
Grafton. 

The first order -from McClellan to Kelley was, that he 
■ should fortify the hills about Wheeling. This was on May 
26, 1861. This appears to have been thought necessary 
as a precaution against an advance on the part of the con- 
federates; but McClellan did not know how weak they 
were in West Virginia at that time. Colonel Porterlield 



168 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



could not get together men and ammunition enough to en- 
courage him to hold Grafton, much less to advance to the 
Ohio river. It is true that on the day that Virginia passed 
the ordinance of secession, Governor Letcher made an 
effort to hold Wheeling, but it signally failed. Pie wrote 
to Mayor Sweeney of that city to seize the post office, the 
customhouse, and all government property in that city, 
hold them in the name of the state of Virginia. Mayor 
Sweeney replied: "I have seized upon the custom house, 
the post office and all public buildings and documents, in 
the name of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United 
States, whose property they are." 

Colonel Kelley, when he received the order to fortify the 
hills about Yv 7 heeling*, replied that he did not believe such 
a step was necessary, but that the proper thing to do was 
to advance to Grafton and drive the rebels out of the coun- 
try. McClellan accepted the suggestion, and ordered 
Kelley to move to Grafton with the force under his orders. 
These troops had enlisted at Wheeling and had been 
drilled for service. They were armed with guns sent from 
Massachusetts. They carried their ammunition in their 
pockets, as they had not yet been fully equipped with the 
accoutrements of war. They were full of enthusiasm, and 
were much gratified when the orders came for an advance. 
While Kelley 's troops were setting out from Wheeling- an 
independent movement was in progress at Morgantown to 
drive the confederates out of Grafton. A number of com- 
panies had been organized on the Monongahela, and they 
assembled at Morgantown, where they were joined by 
three companies from Pennsylvania, and were about to set 
out for Grafton on their own responsibility, to drive Colonel 
Porterfield out, when they learned that Colonel Kelley had 
already advanced from Wheeling, and that the confeder- 
ates had retreated. Colonel Porterfield learned of the ad- 
vance from Wheeling and saw that he would be attacked 
before his looked-for reinforcements and arms could arrive*. 



COLONEL PORTERFIELD'S RETREAT. 169 



The poorly-equipped force under his command would be 
unable to successfully resist an attack, and he prepared to 
retreat southward. He ordered two railroad bridges 
burned, between Fairmont and Manning-ton, hoping- there- 
by to delay the arrival of the Wheeling- troops. 

At daybreak on May 27 Colonel Kellev's troops left 
Wheeling- on board the cars for Grafton. Wheu they 
reached Mannington they stopped long enough to rebuild 
the burnt bridges, which delayed them only a short time. 
While there Kelley received a telegram from McClellan in- 
forming him that troops from Ohio and Indiana were on 
their way to his assistance. When the Wheeling troops 
reached Grafton the town had been deserted by the con- 
federates, who had retreated to Philippi, about twenty-five 
miles south of Grafton. Colonel Kelley at once planned 
pursuit. On June 1 a considerable number of soldiers 
from Ohio and Indiana had arrived. Colonel R. H. Milroy, 
Colonel Irvine and General Thomas A. Morris were in 
command of the troops from beyond the Ohio. They were 
the van of General McClellan's advance into West Vir- 
ginia. When General Morris arrived at Grafton he as- 
sumed command of all the forces in that vicinit}^ Colonel 
Kelley's plan of pursuit of Colonel Porterfield was laid be- 
fore General Morris and was approved by him, and prepa- 
rations were immediately commenced for carrying it into 
execution. It appears that Colonel Porterfield did not ex- 
pect pursuit. He had established his camp at Philippi 
and was waiting for reinforcements and supplies which 
failed to arrive. Since assuming command of the confed- 
erate forces in West Virginia he had met one disappoint- 
ment after another. He had come to nil a want not exten- 
sively felt by the people of that part of the state. His force 
at Philippi was stated at the time to number two thousand, 
but it is not believed to have been so large. General Mor- 
ris and Colonel Kelley prepared to attack him with three 



170 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



thousand men, advancing- at night by two routes to fall 
upon him by surprise. 

Colonel Kelley was to march about six miles east from 
Grafton on the morning- of June 2, and from that point 
march across the mountains during- the afternoon and 
nigiit, and so regulate his movements as to reach Philippi 
at four o'clock the next morning-. Colonel Dumont, who 
had charge of the other column, was ordered to repair to 
Webster, a small town on the Parkersburg- branch of the 
Baltimore and Ohio railroad, four miles west from Grafton, 
and to march from that point toward Philippi so that he 
would appear before the town exactly at four o'clock on 
the morning- of June 3. Colonel Kelley 's task was the more 
difficult, for he followed roads that were very poor. Gen- 
eral Morris suspected that spies in and about Grafton 
would discover the movement and would carry the news 
to Colonel Porterfield at Philippi, and that he would hur- 
riedly retreat, either toward Beverly or eastward to St. 
George, on Cheat river. Colonel Kelley was therefore 
ordered, in case he received positive intelligence that the 
rebels had retreated eastward, to follow as fast as possible 
and endeavor to intercept them; at the same time he was 
to notify Colonel Dumont of the retreat of the enemy and 
of the movement to intercept them. 

Colonel Kelley left Grafton in the morning. It was gen- 
erally supposed he was on his way to Harper's Ferry. 
Colonel Dumont's column left Grafton after dark on the 
evening of June 2. The march that night was throng- h 
rain and in pitch darkness. This delayed Dumont's divi- 
sion, and it seemed that it would not be able to reach 
Philippi by the appointed time; but the men marched the 
last five miles in an hour and a quarter, and so well was 
everything managed that Kelley's and Dumont's forces 
arrived before Philippi within fifteen minutes of each 
other. The confederates had not learned of the ad- 
vance and were off their guard. The pickets fired a few 



COLONEL PORTERFIELD'S RETREAT. 171 



shots and fled. The union artillery opened on the camp 
and the utmost confusion prevailed. Colonel Porterfield 
ordered a retreat, and succeeded in saying - the most of his 
men, but lost a considerable portion of the small supply of 
arms he had. He abandoned his camp and stores. This 
action was called the "Philippi Races," because of the 
haste with which the confederates fled and the union forces 
pursued. Colonel Kelley while leading- the pursuit was 
shot through the breast and was supposed to be mortally 
wounded, but he subsequently recovered and took an ac- 
tive part in the war until near its close, when he and Gen- 
eral Crook were surprised and taken prisoner at Cumber- 
land, Maryland. General McClellan, who had not yet 
crossed the Ohio, was much encouraged by this victory, 
small as it appears in comparison with the momentous 
events later in the war. The loyal people of West Virginia 
were also much encouraged, and the southern sympath- 
izers were correspondingly depressed. 

Colonel Porterfield 's cup of disappointment was full 
when, five days after his retreat from Philippi, he learned 
that he had been superseded by General Robert S. Gar- 
nett, who was on his way from Richmond to assume com- 
mand of the confederate forces in West Virg-inia. Colonel 
Porterfield had retreated to Huttonville, in Randolph 
county, above Beverly, and there turned his command over 
to his successor. A court of inquiry was held to examine 
Colonel Porterfield 's conduct. He was censured by the 
Richmond people who had sent him into West Virginia, 
had neglected him, had failed to supply him with arms or 
the adequate means of defense, and when he suffered de- 
feat, they threw the blame on him when the most of it be- 
longed to themselves. Little more than one month elapsed 
from that time before the confederate authorities had oc- 
casion to understand more fully the situation bej^ond the 
Alleghanies; and the general who took Colonel Porterfield's 
place, with seven or eight times his-force of men and arms, 



172 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



conducted a far more disastrous retreat, and was killed 
while bringing- off his broken troops from a lost battle. 

Previous to General McClellan's coming- into West Vir- 
ginia, he issued a proclamation to the people, in which he 
stated the purpose of his coming, and why troops were 
about to be sent across the Ohio river. This proclamation 
was written in Cincinnati, May 26, 1861, and sent by tele- 
graph to Wheeling- and Parkersburg-, there to be printed 
and circulated. The people were told that the army was 
about to cross the Ohio as friends to all who were loyal to 
the g-overnment of the United States; to prevent the de- 
struction of property by the rebels; to preserve order; to 
cooperate with loyal Virginians in their efforts to free the 
state from the confederates; and to punish all attempts at 
insurrection among slaves, should they rise ag-ainst their 
masters. This last statement was no doubt meant to anVy 
the fears of many that as soon as a union army was upon 
the soil, there would be a slave insurrection, which, of all 
thing-s, was most dreaded by those who lived among slaves. 
On the same day General McClellan issued an address to 
his soldiers, informing them that they were about to cross 
the Ohio, and acquainting them with the duties to be per- 
formed. He told them they were to act in concert with 
the loyal Virginians in putting- down the rebellion. He 
enjoined the strictest discipline and warned them ag-ainst 
interfering with the rights or property of the loyal Vir- 
ginians. Pie called on them to show mercy to those cap- 
tured in arms, for many of them were misguided. He 
stated that, when the confederates had been driven from 
northwestern Virginia, the loyal people of that part of the 
state would be able to organize and arm, and would be com- 
petent to take care of themselves; and then the services of 
the troops from Ohio and Indiana would be no longer 
needed, and they could return to their homes. He little 
understood what the next four years would bring forth. 

Three weeks had not elapsed after Colonel Porterfield 



COLONEL PORTERFIELD'S RETREAT. 173 



retreated from Philippi before General McClellan saw that 
something- more was necessary before Western Virginia 
would be pacified. The confederates had been larg-ely 
reinforced at Huttonville, and had advanced northward 
within twelve miles of Philippi and had fortified their 
camp. Philippi was at that time occupied by General 
Morris, and a collision between his forces and those of the 
confederates was likely to occur at any time. General Mc- 
Clellan thoug-ht it advisable to be nearer the scene of 
operations, and on June 22, 1861, he crossed the Ohio with 
his staff and proceeded to Grafton where he established 
his headquarters. He had at this time about twenty 
thousand soldiers in West Virginia, stationed from Wheel- 
ing- to Grafton, from Parke rsburg- to the same place, and 
in the country round about. 



CHAPTER XIV, 



«o» — — 

GENERAL GARNETTS RETREAT, 

Colonel Porterfield was relieved of his command by 
General Garnett, June 14, 1861, and the military affairs of 
northwestern Virginia were looked after by Garnett in 
person. The Richmond government and the Southern 
Confederacy had no intention of abandoning the country 
beyond the Alleghanies. On the contrary, it was resolved 
to hold it at all hazzards; but subsequent events showed 
that the confederates either greatly underestimated the 
strength of McClellan's army, or greatly overestimated 
the strength of their own forces sent against him. Other- 
wise, Garnett, with a force of only eight thousand, would 
not have been pushed forward against the lines of an 
army of twenty thousand; and that, too, in a position so 
remote that Garnett was practically isolated from all as- 
sistance from the south and east. Reinforcements 
numbering about two thousand men were on the way from 
Staunton to Beverly, at the time of Garnett '3 defeat; but 
had these troops reached him in time to be of service, he 
would still have had only half as large a force as that of 
McClellan opposed to him. Military men have severely 
criticised General Lee for what they regard as a blunder in 
thus sending an army to almost certain destruction, with 
little hope of performing any service to the confederacy. 

Had the confederates been able to hold^the Baltimore 
and Ohio railroad, the disaster attending General Garnett 's 
campaign would probably not have occurred. With that 
road in their hands, they could have thrown soldiers and 
supplies into Grafton and Clarksburg within ten hours 



GENERAL GARNETT 'S RETREAT. 175 



from Harper's Ferry. They would thus have had quick 
communication with their base of supplies, and an open 
way to fall back when compelled to do so. But they did 
not hold the Baltimore and Ohio road, and their only prac- 
ticable route into western Virginia, north of the Kanawha 
was by wagon roads across the Alleghanies, by way of the 
Valley of Virginia. This was a long and difficult route by 
which to transport supplies for an army; and in case that 
army was compelled to retreat, the line of retreat was 
liable to be cut by the enemy, as it actually was in the case 
of Garnett. 

On July 1, 1861. General Garnett had about four thousand 
five hundred men. The most of them were from eastern 
Virginia and the states further south. A considerable 
part of them were Georgians who had recently been sta- 
tioned at Pensacola, Florida. Reinforcements were con- 
stantly arriving* over the Alleghanies, and by July 10, he 
had eight thousand men. He moved northward and west- 
ward from Beverly and fortified two points on Laurel hill, 
one named Camp Rich Mountain, five miles west of Beverly, 
the other fifteen miles north by west, near Belington, in 
Barbour county. These positions were naturally strong, 
and their strength was increased by fortifications of logs 
and stones. They were only a few miles from the out- 
posts of McClellan's army. Had the confederate positions 
been attacked from the front, it is probable that they could 
have held out a considerable time. But, there was little in 
the way of flank movements, and when McClellan madehis 
attack, it was by flanking. General Garnett was not a 
novice in the field. He had seen service in the Mexican 
■war; had taken part in many of the hardest battles; had 
foug-ht Indians three years on the Pacific coast, and at the 
outbreak of the civil war he was traveling in Europe. He 
hastened home; resigned his position in the United States 
army, and joined the confederate army, and was almost 
immediately sent into West Virginia to be sacrificed. 



176 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



While the confederates were fortifying- their positions in 
Randolph and Barbour counties, the union forces were not 
idle. On June 22 General McClellan crossed the Ohio 
river at Parkersburg. The next day at Grafton he issued 
two proclamations, one to the citizens of West Virg-inia, 
the other to his soldiers. To the citizens he gave assur- 
ance ag'ain that he came as a friend, to uphold the laws, to 
protect the lawabiding, and to punish those in rebellion 
against the government. In the proclamation to his sol- 
diers he told them that he had entered West Virg-inia to 
bring- peace to the peaceable and the sword to the rebel- 
lious who were in arms; but mercy to disarmed rebels. 
He soon beg-an to concentrate his forces for an attack on 
Garnett. He moved his headquarters to Buckhannon on 
July 2, to be near the center of operations. Clarksburg 
was his base of supplies, and he constructed a telegraph 
line as he advanced, one of the first, if not the very first 
military telegraph line in America. From Buckhannon he 
could move in any desired direction by good roads. He 
had fortified posts at Webster, Clarksburg, Parkersburg 
and Grafton. Eight days later he had moved his head- 
quarters to Middle Fork, between Buckhannon and Bev- 
erly, and in the meantime his forces had made a general 
advance. He was now within sight of the confederate 
fortifications on Rich mountain. General Morris, who was 
leading the advance against Laurel Hill, was also within 
sight of the confederates. There had already been some 
skirmishing, and all believed that the time was near when 
a battle would be fought. Lieutenant John Pegram, with 
thirteen hundred confederates, was in command at Rich 
Mountain; and at Laurel Hill General Garnett, with be- 
tween four thousand and five thousand men, was in com- 
mand. There were about two thousand more confederates 
at various points within a few miles. 

After examining the ground McClellan decided to make 
the first attack on the Rich Mountain works, but in order 

14 • 



GENERAL GAR LETT'S RETREAT. 177 



to divert attention from his real purpose, he ordered Gen- 
eral Morris, who was in front of General Garnett's posi- 
tion, to bombard the confederates at Laurel Hill. Accord- 
ingly shells were thrown in the direction of the confeder- 
ate works, some of which exploded within the lines, but 
doing- little damag-e. On the afternoon of July 10 General 
McClellan prepared to attack Peg-ram at Rich Mountain, 
but upon examination of the approaches he saw that an at- 
tack in front would probably be unsuccessful. General 
Rosecrans, who was in charg-e of one wing- of the forces in 
front of the confederate position, met a young- man named 
Hart, whose father lived two miles in the rear of the rebel 
fortifications, and he said he could pilot a force, by an ob- 
scure road, round the southern end of the confederate 
lines and reach his father's farm, from which an attack on 
Peg-ram in the rear could be made. The young- man was 
taken to General McClellan and consented to act as ag-uide. 
Thereupon General McClellan chang-ed his plan from at- 
tacking- in front to an attack in the rear. He moved a por- 
tion of his forces to the western face of Rich Mountain, 
ready to support the attack when made, and he then dis- 
patched General Rosecrans, under the guidance of young- 
Hart, by the circuitous route, to the rear of the confeder- 
ates. General Rosecrans reached his destination and sent 
a messeng-er to inform General McClellan of the fact, and 
that all was in readiness for the attack. This messeng-er 
was captured by the confederates, and Peg-ram learned of 
the new dang-er which threatened him, while McClellan 
was left in doubt whether his troops had been able to reach 
the point for which they had started. Had it not been for 
this perhaps the fig-hting- the next day would have resulted 
in the capture of the confederates. 

Colonel Peg-ram, finding- that he was to be attacked from 
the rear, sent three hundred and fifty men to the point of 
dang-er, and built the best breastworks possible in the 
short time at his disposal. When Rosecrans advanced to 



178 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

the attack he was stubbornly resisted, and the fight con- 
tinued two or three hours, and neither side could gain any 
advantage. Pegram was sending' down reinforcements 
from the mountain when the union forces made a charge, 
and swept the confederates from the field. Colonel Peg- 
ram went up the mountain and collected several compa- 
nies and prepared to renew the attack. It was now late in 
the afternoon of July 11. The men were panic stricken, 
but they moved forward, and were led around the moun- 
tain within musket range of the union forces that had re- 
mained on the battle ground. But the confederates be- 
came alarmed and fied without making an attack. Their 
forces were scattered all over the mountain, and night was 
coming on. Colonel Pegram saw that all was lost, and de- 
termined to make his way to Garnett's army, if possible, 
about fifteen miles distant, through the woods. Pie com- 
menced collecting his men and sending them forward. It 
was after midnight when he left the camp on the summit 
of Rich mountain, and set forward with the last remnants 
of his men in an effort to reach the confederate forces on 
Laurel Hill. The loss of the confederates in the battle 
had been about forty-five killed and about twenty wounded. 
All their baggage and artillery fell into the hands of the 
union army. Sixty-three confederates were captured. 
Rosecrans lost twelve killed and forty-nine wounded. 

The retreat from Rich mountain was disastrous. The 
confederates were eighteen hours in groping- their way 
twelve miles through the woods in the direction of Gar- 
nett's camp. Near sunset on July 12, they reached the 
Tygart river, three miles from the Laurel Hill camp, and 
there Jearned from the citizens that Garnett had already 
retreated and that the union forces were in hot pursuit. 
There seemed onlv one possible avenue of escape open for 

the mountains into Pendleton county. Few persons lived 
near the road, and the outlook was that the men would 



GENERAL GARNETT'S RETREAT. 17» 



starve to death if they attempted to make their way 
through. They were already starving-. Accordingly, 
Colonel Peg-ram that night sent a flag- of truce to Beverly,, 
offering- to surrender, and at the same time stating- that 
his men were starving-. Early the next morning- General 
McClellan sent several wag-on loads of bread to them, and 
met them on their way to Beverly. The number of pris- 
oners surrendered was thirty officers and five hundred 
and twenty-five men. The remainder of the force at Rich 
Mountain had been killed, wounded, captured and scat- 
tered. 

It now remains to be told how General Garnett fared. 
The fact that he had posted the greater part of his army 
on Laurel Hill is proof that he expected the principal at- 
tack to be made on that place. He was for a time deceived 
by the bombardment directed ag-ainst him, but he was un- 
deceived by the sound of cannon at Rich Mountain, and 
later he learned that Colonel Peg-ram had been defeated, 
and that General McClellan had thrown troops across Rich 
Mountain and had successfully turned the flank of the con- 
federate position. All that was left for Garnett was to 
withdraw his army while there was yet time. His line of 
retreat was the pike from Beverly to Staunton, and the 
union forces were pushing- forward to occupy that and to 
cut him off in that direction. On the afternoon of July 12, 
1861, Garnett retreated, hastening- to reach Beverly in ad- 
vance of the union forces. On the way he met fugitives 
from Pegram's army and was told by them that McClellan 
had already reached Beverly, and that the road in that 
direction was closed. Thereupon Garnett turned eastward 
into Tucker county, over a very rough road. It is now be- 
lieved that the union forces had not reached Beverly at that 
time, and that Colonel Pegram's fugitives had mistaken 
retreating confederate cavalry for union troops. In Cap- 
tain A. J. Smith's history of the 31st Virginia (confe der- 
ate) regiment, it is stated that the reason why Garnett 



180 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



turned eastward was because confederate cavalry had 
blockaded the Beverly pike. Whether this was the case 
or whether McClellan had reached Beverly, retreat in that 
direction had been cut off. General Morris pursued the 
retreating- confederates over the mountain to Cheat river, 
skirmishing- on the way. General Garnett remained in the 
rear directing- his skirmishers; and on July 14, at Corrick's 
Ford, where Parsons, the county seat of Tucker county, 
has since been located, he found that he could no longer 
avoid giving- battle. With a few hundred men he opened 
lire on the advance of the pursuing- army and checked the 
pursuit. But in bringing- off his skirmishers from behind 
a pile of driftwood, Garnett was killed and his men were 
seized with panic and fled, leaving- his body on the field,, 
with a score or more of dead. 

Up to this point the retreat had been orderly, but it soon 
became a rout. The roads were narrow and rough, and 
the excessive rains had rendered them almost impassible. * 
Wag-ons and stores were abandoned, and when Horse Shoe 
run, a long- and narrow defile leading- to the Red House, in 
Maryland, was reached information was received that 
union troops from Rowlesburg- and Oakland were at the 
Red House, cutting- off retreat in that direction. The artil- 
lery was sent to the front. A portion of the cavalry was 
piloted by a mountaineer along- a narrow path across the 
Backbone and Alleg-hany mountains. The main body con- 
tinued its retreat to the Red House. A union force had 
reached that point, but retreated as the confederate front 
came within hearing- about two o'clock on the morning of 
July 15. The army pursued its way unmolested across 
the Alleghanies and proceeded to Monterey. Two regi- 
ments marching in haste to reinforce Garnett at Laurel 
Hill, had reached Monterey when news of Garnett's retreat 
was received. The regiments halted there, and as Gar- 
nett's stragglers came in they were reorganized. 

The union army made no pursuit beyond Corrick's Ford, 



GENERAL GARNETT'S RETREAT. 



181 



except that detachments followed to the Red House to pick 
up the stores abandoned by the confederates. Garnett's 
body fell into the hands of the union forces and was pre- 
pared for burial and sent to Richmond. It was carried in 
a canoe to Rowlesburg, on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad 
thirty miles below, on Cheat river, in charge of Whitelaw 
Re id, who had taken part in the battle at Cor rick's Ford. 
Reid was acting* in the double capacity of correspondent 
for the Cincinnati Gazette and an aid on the staff of Gen- 
eral Morris. When Rowlesburg- was reached Garnett's 
body was sent by express to Governor Letcher, at Rich- 
mond. 

This closed the campaign in that part of W est Virginia 
for 1861. The confederates had failed to hold the country. 
On July 22 General McClellan was transferred to Wash- 
ington to take charge of military operations there. In com- 
parison with the greater battles and more extensive cam- 
paign later in the war, the affairs in West Virginia were 
small. But they were of great importance at the time. 
Had the result been different, had the rebels held their 
ground at Grafton, Philippi, Rich Mountain and Laurel 
Hill, and had the union forces been driven out of the state, 
across the Ohio, the outcome would have changed the his- 
tory of the war, but probably not the result. 



CHAPTER XV, 



«o» 

GENERAL LEE'S WEST VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN 

r " After Garnett's retreat in July, 1861, there were few 
confederates in West Virginia, west of the Alleghanies, 
except in the Kanawha valley. But the government at 
Richmond, and the confederate g-overnment, were not in- 
clined to give up so easily the part of Virginia west of the 
mountains; and, in a short time, preparations were made 
to send an army from the east to reconquer the territory 
beyond the Alleghanies. A large part of the army with 
which McClellan had defeated Garnett had been sent to 
©ther fields; the terms of enlistment of many of the soldiers 
had expired. When the confederates crossed the moun- 
tains late in the summer of 1861 they were opposed by less 
than ten thousand federals stationed in that mountainous 
part of West Virginia about the sources of the Greenbrier, 
the Tygart Valley river, Cheat, and near the source of the 
Potomac. In that elevated and rugged region a remarka- 
ble campaign was made. It was not remarkable because of 
hard fighting, for there was no pitched battle; but because 
in this campaign the confederates were checked in their 
purpose of reconquering the ground lost by Garnett and 
of extending their conquest at least as far north and west 
as Clarksburg and Grafton. This campaign lv<te also an 
historical interest because it was General Lee's first work 
in the field after he had been assigned the command of 
Virginia's land and sea forces. The outcome of the cam- 
paign was not what might be expected of a great and calcu- 
lating general as Lee undoubtedly was. Althougii he had 
a larger army than his opponents in the field, and had at 



GEN. LEE'S CAMPAIGN IN WEST VIRGINIA. 183 



least as good ground, and although he was able to hold his 
own at every skirmish, yet, as the campaign progressed he 
constantly fell back. In September he fought at Elk- 
water and Cheat Mountain, in Randolph count}^; in October 
he fought at Greenbrier river, having fallen back from his 
first position. In December he had fallen back to the 
summit of the Alleghanies, and fought a battle there. It 
may be stated, however, that General Lee, although in 
command of the army, took part in person only in the 
skirmishing in Randolph county. The importance of this 
campaign entitles it to mention somewhat more in detail. 

General Reynolds succeeded General McClellan in com- 
mand of this part of West Virginia. He advanced from 
Beverly to Huttonsville, a few miles above, and remained 
in peaceful possession of the country two months after 
Garnett's retreat, except that his scouting parties were 
constantly annoyed by confederate irregulars, or guer- 
rillas, usually called bushwhackers. Their mode of 
attack was, to lie concealed on the summits of cliffs, over- 
hanging the roads, or in thickets on the hillsides, and fire 
upon the union soldiers passing below. They were justly 
dreaded by the union troops. These bushwhackers were 
usually citizens of that district who had taken to the woods 
after their well-known southern sympathies had rendered 
it unsafe or unpleasant to remain at home while the 
country was occupied by the union armies. They were 
excellent worksmen, minutely acquainted with all the ins 
and outs of the mountains and woods; and, from their 
manner of attack and flight, it was seldom that they were 
captured or killed. They hid about the outposts of the 
union armies; picked off sentinels; waylaid scouts; am- 
bushed small detachments, and fled to their mountain 
fastnesses where pursuit was out of the question. A war 
is considered severe in loss of life in which each soldier, 
taken as an average, kills one soldier on the other side, 
«ven though the war is prolonged for years. Yet, these 



184 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



bushwhackers often killed a dozen or more each, before 
being- themselves killed; and, a case is recorded, in Pendle- 
ton county, in which a bushwhacker, named William Har- 
per, was captured and shot after he had killed thirty-five 
union soldiers. It can be readily understood why small 
detachments dreaded bushwhackers more than confeder- 
ate troops in pitched battle. Nor, did the bushwhackers 
confine their attacks to small parties. They often fired 
into the ranks of armies on the march with deadly effect. 
While in the mountains of West Virginia General AverelPs 
cavalry often suffered severely from these hidden 
guerrillas who fired and vanished. 

General Reynolds, with headquarters at Beverly, spent 
the summer of 1861 in strengthening his position, and in 
attempting to clear the country of g-uerrillas. Early in 
September he received information that large numbers of 
confederates were crossing the Alleghanies. General 
Loring established himself at Huntersville, in Pocahontas 
• county, with eight thousand five hundred men. He it was 
who had tried in vain to raise recruits in West Virginia 
for the confederacy, even attempting- to g-ain a foothold in 
Wheeling- before McClellan's army crossed the Ohio river.. 
He had g-one to Richmond, and early in September had re- 
turned with an army. General H. R. Jackson was in com- 
mand of another confederate force, six thousand strong - , at 
Greenbrier river where the pike from Beverly to Staunton 
crosses that stream, in Pocahontas county. General Rob- 
ert E. Lee was seut by the g-overnment at Richmond to- 
take command of both these armies, and he lost no time in 
doing- so. He concentrated his force at Big- Spring-, 0111 
Valley mountain, and prepared to march north to the Bal- 
timore and Ohio road at Grafton. His design was nothing 
less than to drive the union army out of northwestern Vir- 
ginia. When the matter is viewed in the light of subse- 
quent history, it is to be wondered at that General Lee. 
did not succeed in his purpose. He had nearly fifteen. 



GEN. LEE'S CAMPAIGN IN WEST VIRGINIA. 185 



thousand men, and only nine thousand were opposed to 
him. Had he defeated General Reynolds; driven his army 
back; occupied Grafton, Clarksburg- and other towns, it 
can be readily seen that the seat of war might have been 
changed to West Virginia. The United States govern- 
ment would have sent an army to oppose Lee; and the Con- 
federate government would have pushed strong- reinforce- 
ments across the mountains; and some of the gr eat battles 
of the war might have been foug-ht on the Monongahela 
river. The campaign in the fall of 1861, about the head- 
waters of the principal rivers of West Virginia, therefore, 
derives its chief interest, not from battles, but from the 
accomplishment of a great purpose — the driving- back of 
the confederates — without a pitched battle. Virginia, as 
a state, made no determined effort after that to hold W e st- 
ern Virginia. By that time the campaign in the Kanawha 
valley was drawing- to a close and the rebels were retir- 
ing. Consequently, Virginia's, and the Southern Confed- 
eracy's efforts w T est of the Alleghanies in this state w r ere 
defeated in the fall of 1861. 

On September 13, General Reynolds sent a regiment to 
Elkwater, and soon afterwards occupied Cheat Mountain. 
This point was the highest camp occupied by soldiers 
during- the war. The celebrated "battle above the clouds," 
on Lookout Mountain, was not one-half so high. The 
whole region, including parts of Pocahontas, Pendleton 
and Randolph counties, has an elevation above three thous- 
and feet, while the summits of the knobs and ridges rise 
to heights of more than four thousand, and some nearly 
five thousand feet. General Reynolds fortified his two ad- 
vanced positions, Elkwater and Cheat Mountain. They 
were seven miles apart, connected by only a bridle path, 
but a circuitous wagon road, eighteen miles long-, led from 
one to the other, passing around in the direction of Hut- 
toiisville. No sooner had the United States troops estab- 
lished themselves at Elkwater and Cheat Mountain than. 



186 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



General Lee advanced, and skirmishing" began. The con- 
federates threw a force between Elkwater and Cheat 
Mountain, and posted another force on the road in the di- 
rection of Huttonsville. They were attacked, and for 
three days there was skirmishing-, but no general engage- 
ment. On September 13, Colonel John A. Washington, in 
the confederate service, was killed near Elkwater. He 
was a relative of President Washington, and also a relative 
of General R. E. Lee, whose family and the Washingtons 
were closely connected. General Lee sent a flag" of truce 
and asked for the body. It was sent to the confederate 
lines on September 14. That day the confederates con- 
centrated ten miles from Elkwater, and the next day again 
advanced, this time threatening Cheat Mountain; but their 
attack was unsuccessful. In this series of skirmishes the 
union forces had lost nine killed, fifteen wounded and 
about sixty prisoners. The result was a defeat for the 
confederates, who were thwarted in their design of pene- 
trating- northward and westward. 

The confederates were not yet willing- to give up West 
Virginia. They fell back to the Greenbrier river, thirteen 
miles from the union position on Cheat Mountain, and for- 
tified their position. They were commanded by General 
H. A. Jackson, and their number was believed to be about 
nine thousand. On October 3, 1861, General Reynolds ad- 
vanced at the head of five thousand troops. During- the 
first part of the engagement the union forces were success- 
ful, driving the confederates nearly a mile; but here sev- 
eral batteries of artillery were encountered, and reinforce- 
ments arriving to the support of the confederates, the bat- 
tle was renewed, and General Reynolds was forced to fall 
back, with a loss of nine killed and thirty-five wounded* 
On December 10, General Reynolds was transferred to 
other fields, and the command of the union forces in the 
Cheat Mountain district was given to General R. H. Mil- 
roy. Within three days after he assumed command he 



GEN. LEE'S CAMPAIGN IN WEST VIRGINIA. 187 



moved forward to attack the confederate camp on the sum- 
mit of the Alleghanies. The confederates had gone into 
winter quarters there; and, as the weather was severe, 
and as the union forces appeared satisfied to hold what 
they had without attempting- any additional conquests 
in midwinter, the rebels were not expecting- an attack. 
However, on December 13, 1861, General Milroy moved 
forward and assaulted the confederates' position. The 
fighting was severe for several hours, and finally resulted 
in the retreat of the union forces. The confederates made 
no attempt to follow. General Milroy marched to Hunt- 
ersville, in Pocahontas county, and went into winter quar- 
ters. The rebels remained on the summit of the Alleg-ha- 
nies till spring-, and then went over the mountains, out of 
West Virginia, thus ending- the attempt to reconquer 
northwestern Virginia. 

It may not be amiss to speak here of Virginia's relation 
as a state to the Southern Confederacy. It is the more 
necessary to do so because the military undertaking's of 
Virginia and those of the Southern Confederacy often ap- 
peared independent of each other, or in conflict with each 
other, during- the operations in W est Virginia. General Lee 
at that time was commander-in-chief of the Virginia land 
and sea forees — not of the confederate forces. But this 
was a distinction without a difference, for the Virginians 
under him were all confederates. The theory of State's 
Rights, the chief corner-stone of the Southern Confeder- 
acy, required each state in the confederac}^ to retain, main- 
tain and insist upon its separate existence, even when all 
had banded together in a desperate struggle. Thus Vir- 
ginia soldiers were impressed with the belief that their 
first and chief service was to the state, and after that to 
the confederacy. During the occupation of Western Vir- 
ginia, before McClellan crossed the Ohio, General Lee's 
and Governor Letcher's orders to their officers in the north- 
west were to seize and hold railroads, custom houses and 



188 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



other property for the state of Virginia; Yet at that time 
Virginia, or rather the secession convention at Richmond, 
had placed all its military forces and property at the dis- 
posal of the Southern Confederacy. It is therefore seen 
that the painful efforts of the Richmond government, 
always to draw a hair-breadth distinction between the 
state and the confederacj r , were far-fetched. When Vir- 
♦ ginia's soldiers were sent by the Richmond authorities 
across the Alleghanies, under the impression that their 
mission concerned the state alone, and that their duty con- 
sisted in holding- the country beyond the mountains in its 
allegiance to the eastern part of the state, they must have 
been surprised to find soldiers from Georgia and other 
southern states already in West Virginia by thousands. 
It must have dawned upon them that they were not fight- 
ing for state rights, but that all state rights had been in 
fact, if not in name, swallowed up by the Southern Confed- 
eracy. There was no difference, so far as state's rights 
were concerned, between the soldiers from the north and 
from the south. Those from Georgia, Florida, Texas* 
Virginia, or any other seceding state, may have been told 
that they were fighting for their respective states, but they 
knew they were fig-hting for the Southern Confederacy, and 
that alone. The soldiers from the north, not matter what 
their states, knew that they were fighting for the preser- 
vation of the union. Even the state militias, called out to 
repel an invasion, and not mustered into the United States 
armies, knew that they were battling for the whole 
country. 



CHAPTER XVI, 



«02> 

CONTEST FOR THE KANAWHA, 

It has been seen that the efforts of the confederates to 
hold northwestern Virginia met with little success on the 
tributaries of the Monong-ahela, about Grafton, Philippi, 
Beverly and about the headwaters of the Greenbrier. 
They had been driven from that region by the close of the 
year 1861. It now remains to be seen what success at- 
tended their efforts to g-ain and retain control of the Ka- 
nawha valley. Their campaign in West Virginia for the 
year 1861 was divided into two parts, in the northwest, 
and in the Kanawha valley. General Henry A, Wise was 
ordered to the Kanawha, June 6, two days before General 
Garnett was ordered to take command of the troops which 
had been driven south from Grafton. Colonel Tompkins 
was already in the Kanawha valley in charg-e of confederate 
forces. The authorities at Richmond at that time believed 
that a general, with the nucleus of an army in the Kanawha 
valley could raise all the troops necessary among- the 
people there. On April 29. General Lee had ordered 
Major John McCausland to the Kanawha to org-anize com- 
panies for the confederacy. Only five hundred flintlock 
muskets could be had at that time to arm the troops in 
that quarter. General Lee suggested that the valley 
could best be held by posting- the force below Charleston. 
Very poor success attended the efforts at raising- volun- 
teers; and the arms found in the district were insufficient 
to equip the men. Supplies were sent as soon as possible 
from eastern Virginia. 

When General Wise arrived, and had collected all his 



190 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



forces, he had eight thousand men, of whom two thousand 
were militia from Raleigh, Fayette and Mercer counties. 
With these he was expected to occupy the Kanawha valley, 
and resist invasion, should union forces attempt to pene- 
trate that part of the state. General John B. Floyd, who 
had been secretary of war under President Buchanan, was 
guarding- the railroad leading from Richmond into Tennes- 
see, and was posted south of the present limits of West 
Virginia, but within supporting distance of General Wise* 
In case a union army invaded the Kanawha valley, it was 
expected that General Floyd would unite his forces with 
these of General Wise, and that they would act in concert, 
if not in conjunction. General Floyd was the older officer, 
and in case their forces were consolidated, he would be 
the commander-in-chief. But General Floyd and General 
Wise were enemies. Their hatred for the yankees was 
less than their hatred for each other. They were both 
Virginia politicians, and they had crossed each other's 
paths too often in the past to be reconciled now. General 
Lee tried in vain to induce them to work in harmony. 
They both fought the union troops bravely; but never in 
concert. When Wise was in front of General Cox, Gen- 
eral Floyd was elsewhere. When Floyd was pitted in 
battle against General Rosecrans, General Wise was 
absent. Thus the union troo'ps beat these quarreling* 
Virginian brig-adier generals in detail, as will be seen in 
the following narrative of the campaign during the sum- 
mer and fall of 1861 in the Kanawha valley. 

T vYhen Generals Wise and Floyd were sent to their dis- 
tricts in the west if was announced in their camps that 
they would march to Clarksburg-, Parkersburg and Wheel- 
ing-. This would have brought them in conflict with Gen- 
eral McClellan's army. On July 2 McClellan put troops 
in motion against the confederates in the Kanawha valley. 
On that date he appointed General J. D. Cox to the com- 
mand of regiments from Kentucky and Ohio, and ordered 



CONTEST FOR THE KANAWHA. 191 



him to cross the Ohio at Gallipolis and take possession of 
Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Kanawha. On July 
23 General Rosecrans succeeded McClellan in command of 
the department of Ohio. Rosecrans pushed the prepara- 
tion for a vigorous campaign, which had alread}^ been com- 
menced. He styled the troops under General Cox the 
brigade of Kanawha. On July 17, in Putnam county, a 
fight occurred between detachments of union and confed- 
erate^orces, in which the latter appeared for the time vic- 
torious, but soon retreated eastward. From that time 
until September 10 there was constant skirmishing- be- 
tween the armies, the advantage being- sometimes on one 
side, sometimes on the other; but the union forces con- 
stantly advanced and the confederates fell back. On 
August 1 General Wise was in Greenbrier county, and in 
a report made to General Lee on that date, he says he fell 
back not a moment too soon. He complains that his mil- 
itia are worthless as soldiers, and urges General Lee to 
send him guns and other arms, and clothing and shoes, as 
his men are ragged and barefooted. On August 20 Gen- 
eral Rosecrans was at Clarksburg preparing to go in per- 
son to lead reinforcements into the Kanawha. He issued 
a proclamation to the people of West Virginia, calling on 
them to obey the laws, maintain order and co-operate with 
the militarv in its efforts to drive the armed confederates 
from the state. 

Prior to that time, Colonel E. B. Tyler with a union force 
had ad\-anced to the Gauley river, and on August 13 he 
took up a position at Cross Lanes. He thus covered Carn- 
ifex Ferry. General Cox was at that time on the Gauley 
, river, twenty miles lower down, near the mouth of that 
stream, nearly forty miles above Charleston. General 
Floyd advanced, and on August 26 crossed the Gauley at 
Carnifex Ferry with twenty-five hundred men, and fell 
upon Colonel Tyler at Cross Lanes with such suddenness 
that the union troops were routed, with fifteen killed and 



192 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



fifty wounded. The latter fell into the hands of the con- 
federates, who took fifty other prisoners also. The re- 
mainder of Tyler's force made its retreat to Charleston; 
and General Floyd fortified the position just gained, and 
prepared to hold it. On September 3, General Wise made 
an attack on General Cox at Gaule} T Bridge, near the mouth 
of the river, twenty miles below Carnifex Ferry. The at- 
tack failed, the confederates were beaten and were vigor- 
ously pursued. Had Wise held Gauley Bridge, Floyd al- 
ready being in possession of Carnifex Ferry, they would 
have been in positions to dispute the further advance of 
the union forces up the Kanawha valley. 

General Rosecrans lelt Clarksburg September 3 with re- 
inforcements, and after a march of seven days reached 
Carnifex Ferry, and that same evening began an attack 
upon the confederates under General Floyd, who were en- 
trenched on the top of a mountain on the west bank of the 
Gauley river, in Nicholas county. This proved to be the 
severest battle fought in West Virginia west of the Alle- 
ghanies during the war. General Floyd had about four 
thousand men and sixteen cannon, and his position was so 
well protected by woods, that assault, with chance of suc- 
cess, was considered exceedingly difficult. He had forti- 
fied this naturally strong position, and felt confident that 
it could not be captured by any force the union general 
could bring against him. The fight began late in the after- 
noon, General Rosecrans having marched seventeen miles 
that day. It was not his purpose to bring on a general en- 
gagement that afternoon, and he directed his forces to ad- 
vance cautiously and find where the enemy lay for the 
position of the confederates was not yet known. While 
thus advancing, a camp was found in the woods, from 
which the confederates had evidently fled in haste. Mili- 
tary stores and private property were scattered in con- 
fusion. From this fact, it was supposed that the enemy 
was in retreat, and the union troops pushed on, through 



CONTEST FOR THE KANAWHA. 



193 



thickets and over ridges. Presently they discovered that 
they had been mistaken. They were fired upon by the 
confederate army in line of battle. From that hour until 
darkness put a stop to the fighting-, the battle continued. 
The union troops had not been able to carry any of the 
rebel works; and General Rosecrans withdrew his men for 
the night, prepared to renew the battle next morning - . 
But during- the nig-ht General Floyd retreated. He had 
grown doubtful of his ability to hold out if the attack was 
resumed with -the same impetuosity as on the preceding- 
evening-. But he was more fearful that the union troops 
would cut off his retreat if he remained. So, while it was 
yet time, he withdrew in the direction of Lewisburg, in 
Greenbrier county, destroying- the bridge over the Gauley, 
and also the ferry across that stream. General Rosecrans 
was unable to pursue because he could not cross the river. 
It is a powerful, turbulent stream, and at this place flows 
several miles down a deep gorge, filled with rocks and cat- 
aracts. Among spoils which fell into the hands of the vic- 
tors was General Floyd's hospital, in which were fifty 
wounded union soldiers who had been captured when Col- 
onel Tyler was driven from this same place on August 26. 
General Rosecrans lost seventeen killed and one hundred 
and forty-one wounded. The confederate loss was never 
ascertained. 

After a rest of a few days the union army advanced to 
Big Sewell mountain. The weather was wet, and the roads 
became so muddy that it was almost impossible to haul 
supplies over them. For this reason it was deemed ad- 
visable to fall back. On October 5 General Rosecrans be- 
g*an to withdraw his forces to Gauley Bridge, and in the 
course of two weeks had transferred his command to that 
place, where he had water communication with his base of 
supplies. 

On November 10 another action was fought between 
General Floyd and General Rosecrans, in which the con- 



194 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



federates were defeated. This virtually closed the cam- 
paign for the year 1861 in that quarter, and resulted in the 
occupation of all the lower Kanawha' valley and the greater 
part of the upper valley. The confederates were finally 
driven out, and never again obtained a foothold in that part 
of the state, although large bodies were at times in tie 
valley of the Kanawha, and occasionally remained a consid- 
erable time. 



CHAPTER XVII, 



»0« 

SCHEMES THAT FAILED. 

The confederate g-overnnient, and the state of Virginia 
as a member of that government, had an object in view 
when they sent their forces into West Virginia at the com- 
mencement of the civil war. Virginia ^as a state was inter- 
ested in retaining- the territory between the Allegiiany 
mountains and the Ohio river and did not believe she could 
do so without force and arms, because her long- neglect and 
oppression had alienated the western counties. Virginia 
correctly judged that they would seize the first opportun- 
ity and organize a separate state. To prevent them from 
doing- so, and to retain that large part of her domain lying 
west of the Alleghanies, were the chief motives which 
prompted Virginia, as a state, to invade the western part 
of her own territory, even before open war was acknowl- 
edged to exist between the Southern Confederacy and the 
general government. The purpose which prompted the 
Southern Confederacy to push troops across the Allegha- 
nies in such haste was to obtain possession of the country 
to the borders of Ohio and Pennsylvania, and to fortify the 
frontiers against invasion from the north and west. It was 
well understood at the headquarters of the Southern Con- 
federacy that the thousands of soldiers already mustering 
beyond the Ohio river, and the tens of thousands who would 
no doubt soon take the field in the same quarter, would 
speedily cross the Ohio, unless prevented. The bold 
move which the south undertook was to make the borders 
of Ohio and Pennsylvania the battle ground. The southern 
leaders did not at that time appreciate the magnitude of 



196 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



the war which was at hand. If they had understood it, and 
had had a military man in the place of Jeff Davis, it-is prob- 
able that the battle ground would have been different from 
what it was. Nevertheless, to rightly understand the 
early movements of the confederates in West Virginia, it 
is necessary to consider that their purpose was to hold the 
country to the Ohio river. Their effort was weak, to be 
sure, bat that was partly due to their miscalculation as to 
the assistance they would receive from the people of West 
Virginia. If they could have organized an army of forty 
thousand West Virginians and reinforced them with as 
many more men from the south, it can be readily seen that 
McClellan could not have crossed the Ohio as he did. But 
the scheme failed. The West Virginians not only would 
not enlist in the confederate arm} 7 , but they enlisted in the 
opposing force; and when Garnett made his report from 
Laurel Hill he told General Lee that, for all the help he 
received from the people, he might as well carry on a cam- 
paign in a foreign country. From that time it was regard- 
ed by the rebels as the enemy's country; and when, later 
in the war, Jones, Jackson, Imboden and others made raids 
into West Virginia they acted toward persons and prop- 
erty in the same way as when raids were made in Ohio and 
P enns ylvania . 

The Baltimore and Ohio railroad, crossing West Vir- 
ginia from Harper's Ferry to Wheeling, and from Grafton 
to Parkersburg, was considered of the utmost importance 
by both the north and the south. It was so near the bound- 
paw between what was regarded as the Southern Confed- 
eracy and the north that during the early part of the war 
neither the one side nor the other felt sure of holding- it. 
The management of the road was strongly in sympathy 
with the north, but an effort was made to so manage the 
property as not to give cause for hostility on the part of 
the south. At one time the trains were run in accordance 
with a time table prepared by Stonewall Jackson, even as 



SCHEMES THAT FAILED. 197 

far as Baltimore and Washing-ton. This fact is detailed 
more fully in another part of this book. It is mentioned 
here only to show that the road attempted to avoid the hos- 
tility of the south. But the road did all in its power to as- 
sist the federal government. It was a part of the confed- 
erate scheme in West Virginia to obtain possession and 
control, in a friendly way if possible, of the Baltimore and 
Ohio railroad. The possession of it would not only help 
the confederacy in a direct way, but it would cripple the 
federal government and help the south in an indirect way 
Within six. days after General Lee was appointed com- 
mander-in-chief of the Virginia armies he instructed Major 
Lorkig-, at Wheeling-, to direct his military operations for 
the protection of the terminus of the Baltimore and Ohio 
railroad on the Ohio river, and also to protect the road else- 
where. Major Boykin was ordered to give protection to 
the road in the vicinity of Grafton. General Lee insisted 
that the peaceful business of the road must not be inter- 
fered with. The branch to Parkershurg was also to be 
protected. Major Boykin was told to "hold the road for 
the benefit of Maryland and Virginia." He was advised 
to obtain the co-operation of the officers of the road and 
afford them every assistance. When Colonel Porterheld 
was ordered to Grafton, on May 4, 1861, among the duties 
marked out for him by General Lee was the holding- of the 
Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and to prevent its being- used 
to the injury of Virg-inia. 

No one has ever supposed that the Southern Confeclerac}^ 
wanted the Baltimore and Ohio road protected because of 
any desire to befriend that company. The leaders of the 
confederacy knew that the officers of the road were not 
friendly to secession. As soon as Western Virg-inia had 
slipped out of the grasp of the confederacy, and when the 
railroad could no longer help the south to realize its ambi- 
tion of fortifying- the banks of the Ohio, the confederacy 
threw off the mask and came out in open hostility. George 



198 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Deas, inspector general of the confederate army, urged 
that the railroad be destroyed, bridges burned along the 
line, and the tunnels west of the Alleghanies blown up so 
that no troops could be carried east from the Ohio river to 
the Potomac. This advice was partly carried out on June 
13, 1861, after Colonel Porterfield had retreated from 
Grafton and had been driven from Philippi. But the 
damage to the road had not been so great but that repairs 
were speedily made. Governor Letcher of Virginia had 
recommended to the legislature a short time before that, 
the Baltimore and Ohio road ought to be destroyed. 
He said: u The Baltimore and Ohio railroad has been a 
positive nuisance to this state, from the opening of the 
war till the present time. And, unless the management 
sho.ll hereafter be in friendly hands, and the government 
under which it exists be a part of our confederacy, it must 
be abated. If it should be permanantly destroyed, we 
must assure our people of some other communication with 
the seaboard." From that time till the close of the war 
the confederacy indicted every damage possible upon the 
road, and in many instances the damage was enormous. 
When the raids under Jones, Imboden and Jackson were 
made into West Virginia, the officers had special orders 
to strike -that road wherever possible. The high trestles 
on the face of Laurel hill between Rowlesburg and Graf- 
ton were named for destruction, but for some reason they 
escaped, although the rebels were w T ithin a mile of them. 

It is proper to state here that an effort was made, after 
fighting had commenced, to win the West Virginians over 
to the cause of the south by promising them larger privi- 
leges than they had ever before enjoyed. On June 14, 
1861, Governor Letcher issued a proclamation, which was 
published at Buttons ville, in Randolph county, and ad- 
dressed to the people of Northwestern Virginia. In this 
proclamation he promised them that the injustice from 
unequal taxation of which they had complained in the past, 



SCHEMES THAT FAILED 



199 



should exist no longer, He said that the eastern part of 
the state had expressed a willingness to relinquish exemp- 
tions from taxation, which it had been enjoying", and was 
willing- to share all the burdens of government. The 
governor promised that in state affairs, the majority 
should rule; and he called upon the people beyond the 
Alleghanies, iu the name of past friendship and of historic 
memories, to espouse the cause of the Southern Confed- 
eracy. It. is needless to state that this proclamation fell 
flat. The people of Western Virginia would have hailed 
with delight a prospect of redress of grievances, had it 
come earlier. But its coming was so long delayed that 
they doubted both the sincerity of these who made the 
promise and their ability to fulfill. Twenty thousand 
soldiers had already crossed the Ohio, and had penetrated 
more than half way from the river to the Alleghanies, and 
they had been joined by thousands of Virginians. It was 
a poor time for governor Letcher to appeal to past 
memories, or to promise justice in the future which had 
been denied in the past. Coming as the promise did at 
that time, it looked like a death bed repentance. The 
Southern Confederacy had postponed fortifying the bank 
of the Ohio until too late; and Virginia had held out the 
olive branch to her neglected and long suffering people 
beyond the mountains when it was too late. They had 
already cast their lot with the north; and already a power- 
ful army had crossed the Ohio to their assistance. Vir- 
ginia's day of dominion west of the Alleghanies was near- 
ing its close; and the Southern Confederacy's hope of 
empire there was already doomed. 



CHAPTER XVIIL 



«o> 

MISCELLANEOUS WAR NOTES. 

The campaign undertaken by McClellan to drive Garnett 
and the other confederates out of W est Virginia; the 
movement of Lee to reoccupy the lost territory; and the 
campaign in the valley of the Kanawha against Wise and 
Floyd, were military movements undertaken with design, 
and persecuted with systematic strategy and tactics, and 
with definite objects in view. They have been written- of 
somewhat in detail elsewhere in this book. There were 
many other military movements on the soil of West Vir- 
ginia, not perhaps to be classed as regularly organized 
campaigns, but rather as incidents and episodes in other 
campaigns having their chief centers outside of this state. 
Some were raids, occasionally small, again of so large pro- 
portions as to cover many counties. Again, there were 
raids starting on West Virginia soil, but having- their prin- 
cipal developments elsewhere. In a local history, such as 
this book is, and professing to deal chiefly with the events 
of a single county, it is impossible to enter into a detailed 
account of the military occurrences in this state. But, in 
order to understand the history of even one county, it is 
necessary to speak, although in the briefest manner, of 
circumstances of the war taking place in neighboring coun- 
ties. Otherwise, the meaning and sequence of occurrences, 
in one locality could not be appreciated. So dependent 
and inter-related are the facts of history that it is often 
necessary to step, temporarily, outside the immediate 
territorial limits under consideration, in order to see the 
beginning or the ending- of movements or occurrences 



MISCELLANEOUS WAR NOTES. 201 

* 

which seem, at first glance, to be local. This chapter will 
be devoted to an account of various and sundry military 
movements within West Virginia, or partly within it. 
Many of these have no direct connection with one another; 
but when taken, as a group, they give a tolerable idea of 
the war in W est Virginia. It is necessary to be brief. 
Nor will any attempt be made to include all the occur- 
rences within the state that deserve to be recorded as 
features of the civil war. 

Harper' S Ferry- — At the mouth of the Shenandoah 
river, where the Potomac has cut its way through the Blue 
Ridge, Harper's Ferry is situated. On account of its loca- 
tion it was contended for by both the north and the south. 
It is the gateway to the valley of Virginia. The Baltimore 
and Ohio railroad, the chief military road of the war, passed 
that place. The confederates wanted the town, because 
when they held it, they could cut the road at will. The 
surroundings are picturesque, amounting almost to the 
sublime. The river at that place is the lowest point in the 
state, being two hundred and sixty feet above sea level. 
The summits of the mountains, almost overhanging the vil- 
lage, are about eight hundred feet higher. At the begin- 
ning of the war the Baltimore and Ohio railroad had a 
branch line up the Shenandoah fco Winchester, about thirty 
miles. Harper's Ferry was one of the first places seized 
by the confederates after Virginia passed the ordinance of 
secession and joined the confederacy. Lieutenant R. 
Jones, of the United States army, was in command when 
the Virginia troops approached. Believing- that he would 
not be able to hold it, he set the armory on fire and re- 
treated into Pennsylvania. The arsenal contained fifteen 
thousand stands of arms. The guns were badly damaged, 
but some of them were subsequently repaired and were 
used by the confederates in future battles. Harper's 
Ferry was held by the southern forces for some time. 
Stonewall Jackson was placed in command there. He at 



«202 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

once began to regulate traffic on the Baltimore and Ohio 
railroad, and finally carried off a large number of cars and 
engines. This was regarded as a great feat by the con- 
federates. In General J. D. Imboden's history of the war 
he speaks of it as follows: "From the very beginning of 
the war the confederacy was greatly in need of rolling 
stock for the railroads. W e were particularly short of lo- 
comotives, and were without the shops to build them. 
Jackson, appreciating this, hit upon a plan to obtain a good 
supply from the Baltimore and Ohio road. Its line was 
double tracked, at least from Point of Rocks to Martins- 
burg, a distance of twenty-five or thirty miles. We had 
not interfered with the running- of trains, except on the 
occasion of the arrest of General Harvey. The coal traffic 
from Cumberland was immense. The Washington gov- 
ernment was accumulating supplies of coal on the sea- 
board. These coal trains passed Harper's Ferry at all 
hours of the day and night, and thus furnished Jackson 
with a pretext for arranging a brilliant scoop. Yv 7 hen he 
sent me to Point of Rocks, he sent C3lonel Harper to Mar- 
tinsburg. He then complained to President Garrett, of 
the Baltimore and Ohio, that the night trains, east bound, 
disturbed the repose of his camp, and requested a change 
of schedule that would pass all east bound trains by Har- 
per's Ferry between eleven and one o'clock. in the daytime. 
Mr. Garrett complied. But, since the' 'empties' were sent 
up the road at night, Jackson again complained that the 
nuisance was as great as ever; and, as the road had two 
tracks, said that he must insist that the west bound trains 
should pass during the same two hours as those g'oing 
.east. Mr. Garrett promptly complied. One night, as 
soon as the schedule was working at its best, Jackson sent 
me an order to take a force of men across to the Maryland 
side of the river the next day at eleven o'clock, and, letting 
all west bound trains pass till twelve o'clock, to allow none 
to go east, and at twelve o'clock to obstruct the road so 



MISCELLANEOUS WAR NOTES. 203 

that it would require several day to repair it. He ordered 
the reverse to he done at Martin sburg. Thus he caught 
all the trains that were going* east or west between these 
points. He ran them up to Winchester, thirty-two miles, 
on the branch road, where they were safe, and whence 
they were removed by horse power to the railroad at Stras- 
bourg-. I do not remember the number of trains captured, 
but the loss crippled" the Baltimore and Ohio road seriously 
for some time, and the gain to our scantily-stocked Vir- 
ginia roads of the same gauge was invaluable." 

Harper's Ferry remained in possession of the confeder- 
ates until May 14, 1861. General Patterson, in command 
of a large union force, crossed the Potomac near Martins- 
burg, defeated Stonewall Jackson at Falling Waters, and 
was moving upon Harper's Ferry when the confederates 
evacuated the place. General Banks succeeded General 
Patterson in command of the forces in that part of Vir- 
ginia. The defeat of the union army soon after rendered 
the abandonment of the south bank of the Potomac neces- 
sary, and Harper's Ferry again fell into the hands of the 
confederates. They held it till March, 1852, when the 
retreat of their armies up the Shenandoah made it impos- 
sible for them longer to hold the town which, for the second 
time, was evacuated by the confederates, and was'at once 
occupied by the union forces. The rebels had destroyed 
the Baltimore and Ohio bridge at that place. On August 
IS, 1862, Colonel Miles, who was holding Harper's Ferry, 
received orders from General Wool to fortify Maryland 
Heights. It was at that time believed that a large confed- 
erate army was preparing to move in that direction. 
Colonel Miles neglected to fortify, as instructed, although 
in the latter part of August it was positively known that 
the confederates were coming-. 

On September 4 the confederate army began to cross the 
Potomac and invade Maryland. The next day Colonel T. 
H. Ford, who was in charge of the union forces on the 



204 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



heights overlooking- Harper's Ferry, sent an urgent re- 
quest for reinforcements and tools for erecting- fortifica- 
tions. He received the reinforcements, but not the tools. 
He borrowed a few axes and built breastworks by cutting- 
down trees. He was engaged in this work when the con- 
federates appeared, commanded by Stonewall Jackson, who 
had been detached from Lee's invading- army. As soon as 
the rebels appeared fire was opened upon them from the 
heig-bts. The federals were reinforced by troops from 
Martinsburg under General Julius White. This raised 
the force in and about Harper's Ferry to thirteen thous- 
and. The confederates were stronger. The only defen- 
sive position fortified by Colonel Miles wasBolivar Heights, 
behind the town, and this was commanded by Maryland 
Heights, and by Loudon Heights on the Virginia side of 
the Potomac. The confederates attacked and captured 
Maryland Heights September 13, and on the same day the 
rebels occupied Loudon Heights and advanced directly to- 
ward the town along the Charlestown pike. Colonel Miles 
saw that he would be cat off and he sent a massage to 
McClellan for reinforcements. The confederates opened 
fire September 14. About two thousand five hundred union 
cavalry, under Colonel Davis, cat their way out and escaped 
into Pennsylvania. The next morning Colonel Miles sur- 
rendered. Eleven thousand prisoners fell info the hands 
of the victors. Colonel Miles was mortally wounded by a 
confederate shell fired half an hour after the white flag had 
been raised. A special commission was appointed to in- 
vestigate the circumstances attending the surrender of 
Harper's Ferry. The result was that Colonel Ford and 
other officers were dismissed from the service; the conduct 
of Colonel Miles was stated in the report to have exhibited 
"an incapacity/ amounting almost to imbecility," and Gen- 
eral Wool was censured for placing- Colonel Miles in so im- 
portant a place. It was also stated that "General McClel- 
lan co aid and should have relieved and protected Harper's 



MISCELLANEOUS WAR NOTES. 205 



Ferry." Jackson occupied the place one day and then pro- 
ceeded into Maryland to join Lee's invading- army on the 
march to Ant ie tain. 

Figures have been compiled, showing- that the Baltimore 
and Ohio road, east and west from Harper's Ferry, lost in 
the year's 1862 and 1863, forty-two engines, three hundred 
and eig-hty-six cars; twenty-three bridges, thirty-six miles 
of track; all the waterstations and telegraph offices for one 
hundred miles; and the machine shops and engine houses 
at Martinsburg. 

General Scfaench' s Defeat: After the campaign, 
d.uring which the battles of Elkwater, Cheat mountain, 
Greenbrier and Camp Alleghany were fought, the union 
army went into winter quarters among the mountains, and 
early in the spring of 1862 began to move toward Staunton. 
The confederates had been driven out of West Virginia, 
and it was the plan to push them, into the valley of Vir- 
ginia. This plan was thwarted by the result of the battle 
at McDowell, May 8, 1862. This fight did not take place 
within the present limits of West Virginia, but in the ad- 
joining county of Highland, in Virginia. But it is not im- 
proper to speak of the occurrence, for the movement was 
made from West Virginia, largely by West Virginia 
troops, and after the repulse, the union force retreated 
into West Virginia. General John C. Fremont was at 
that time in command of the mountain department, which 
included the forces designed for the descent on Staunton. 
General Milroy had immediate command of the troops, 
until the arrival of General Schenck, who then took com- 
mand. 

The confederates were not slow to learn of the advance 
of Melroy, and they prepared to repulse him. While he 
was at Monteray, the county seat of Highland county, on 
April 12, he was attacked by a force of one thousand. The 
attacking party was repulsed. About tw$ weeks later, 
Milroy marched to McDowell, twelve miles distant, on the 



206 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



road to Staunton. Some days later, about May 7, a for- 
ward movement was made; but the confederates began to 
mass their forces for battle. Stonewall Jackson had come 
up with reinforcements for the confederates. He had 
seven thousand men; but he was badly in need of artillery. 
Milroy's troops numbered thirty-seven hundred, and were 
strong- in artillery. The next day a hard battle was 
fought, beginning- at 3:30 p. m. and ending* after dark. In 
some places the fighting was exceedingly severe. A com- 
pany of confederates and a company of union troops, all 
from Clarksburg, and all acquainted, were pitted against 
each other. They were so near they could speak from 
one line to the other. They fought face to face with un- 
flinching bravery. Portions of the two armies were some- 
times not one hundred yards apart, and maintained their 
positions in these close quarters a considerable time. At 
length, about nine o'clock in the evening, it became ap- 
parent that the ground could not be held, and General 
Schenck ordered a retreat in the direction of Franklin, in 
Pendleton count}*. He succeeded in saving nearly all his 
stores, and reached Franklin, closely pursued by the con- 
federates, who kept at a safe distance. They made dem- 
onstrations, as if to attack General Schenck's forces at 
Franklin; but no attack was made, and Jackson soon with- 
drew in the direction of Staunton. 

Confederate Raids. — At intervals, after the con- 
federates were pushed over the Alleghanies by McClellan, 
and driven from the Kanawha by Rosecrans, they made 
raids into "West Virginia until near the close of the war. 
These incursions were sometimes military movements of 
considerable magnitude, on one occasion extending en- 
tirely across the state east and west, to the Ohio river, and 
across that stream into Ohio; and at another time penetrat- 
ing within cannon shot of the borders of Pennsylvania 
near the Monongahela. Other incursions were of less ex- 



tent; some being no more than the dash of large scouting 




MISCELLANEOUS WAR NOTES. 207 



parties to pick up plunder and to destroy property. No 
complete record of all these raids has ever been made; 
and from the nature of the case, perhaps it would be im- 
possible to make a full list. After the confederates saw 
that West Virginia would not willingly join the confed- 
eracy, and that they could not force it to join, they re- 
garded it as the enemy's country, and as leg-it imate plun- 
der. The citizens of West Virginia lost thousands of 
horses, carried off by raiders to replenish the decimated 
ranks of confederate cavalry. A brief account of a few of 
these raids is here given. 

In May, 1862, General Henry Heth, in command of a 
confederate force of twenty-five hundred men, advanced 
from New River Narrows upon the union forces at Lewis- 
burg-, in Greenbrier county, under Colonel Georg-e Crook. 
On the morning- of May 23 the confederates arrived in 
front of the town, on a hill to the east, and planting- g-uns, 
were ready for battle. Colonel Crook had prepared for 
the attack, and made an impetuous charg-e with both in- 
fantry and cavalry. The fight was over in thirty minutes, 
The confederates were swept from the hill, and driven 
across the Greenbrier river, losing eighty killed, one hun- 
dred wounded, one hundred and fifty-seven prisoners, four 
guns, twenty-five horses, three hundred stands of small 
arms. The union forces lost thirteen killed, fifty wounded 
and six prisoners. 

In September of this year, 1852, a raid of far greater 
dimensions was made into the valley of the Kanawha by 
General Loring, with a force estimated at nine thousand 
men. A raid to Guyandotte, on the Ohio river, w a s made 
by another confederate force about the same time, Colonel 
J. A. J. Lightburn was the chief ofiicer in charge of union 
forces in the Kanawha valley. He fell back as Loring ad- 
vanced. The confederates made a tolerably clean sweep 
of the whole valley from the mountains to the Ohio river. 
At one o'clock in the morning- of September 14 Lightburn 



208 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

retreated from Charleston and burned vast quantities of 
government stores to prevent their falling- into the hands 
of the confederates. He then formed a line of battle, and 
Loring promptly replied, and an artillery engagment con- 
tinued for some time. The battle was not decisive, but the 
union forces continued their retreat and the confederates 
were slow to follow. Colonel Lightburn had twenty-five 
killed and ninety-five wounded. The confederates lost 
nearly the same number. They remained in Charleston 
to procure salt for their armies. In the meantime the 
rebel force which had appeared near Guyaiidotte had been 
attacked and defeated by Colonel Paxton. Union forces 
gathered at Point Pleasant in large numbers and proceed- 
ed to reoccupy the Kanawha valley. The confederates did 
not attempt to hold it, but withdrew to the east. Before 
the close of the year all the country to the base of the Alle- 
ghanies was again in possession pf the union forces. 

In November, 1862, a remarkable feat was accomplished 
in the mountains of Greenbrier county by General W. H. 
Powell'. General George Crook, in command of the Ka- 
nawha division, learned that about five hundred confede- 
rates were spending the winter in an abscure camp in 
Sinking creek valley. He sent an ample force for their 
capture; but the march was a hard one; there was a heavy 
snowstorm; the infantrj^ gave out and could not proceed, 
and the cavalry was divided. General Powell was in 
charge of the advance party of twenty men. When near 
the camp four confederates were encountered; two were 
captured and two escaped. Knowing that they would 
alarm the camp, if allowed to reach it, Powell made a 
charge. The rebels, not doubting that an army was upon 
them, surrendered. Thus, a force of twenty-two men, 
without firing a gun or losing a man, captured a camp of 
five hundred confederates. Congress presented General 
Powell with a medal on account of this achievement. 

In September, 1852, General A. G. Jenkins, at the head 

16 



MISCELLANEOUS WAR NOTES. 



209 



of a confederate cavalry force, crossed the Alleghanies 
from the head of the Shenandoah river, and made a de- 
scent upon Beverly in Randolph county. Not meeting 
with much opposition, he continued to Euchannon, Wes- 
ton, westward through Roane county, thence to the Ohio 
river which he crossed. The confederate nag- was then 
seen for the first time in a northern state. He re- 
crossed the Ohio .and made his way back to Virginia by 
way of the Kanawha valley. 

In the latter part of March, 1863, General Jenkins, with 
eig-ht hundred confederates, made another raid into West 
Virginia, this time coming jfrom Dublin, a small town on 
the Virginia and Tennessee railroad. He soon appeared 
in Putnam county, and an encounter took place between 
his force and a body of union troops at Hurricane Bridge. 
The battle continued five hours, v/hen the confederates 
withd.rew. They continued their raid, and the next day 
attacked a steamer on the Kanawha, but failed to capture 
it. The next day, March 30, they reached Point Pleasant, 
on the Ohio. A small union force stationed there took 
refuge in the court house, and fought the besiegers four 
hours. News of the fight had reached Gallipolis, on the 
opposite side of the Ohio, a short distance above, and 
a force was sent down the river, and planting a battery on 
the opposite bank of the Ohio, were about to open fire, 
when the confederates retreated. 

The most disastrous raid experienced by West Virginia 
during the war, occurred in April and May, 1863. Three 
dashing confederate leaders took part in it, Imboden, Jones 
and H. L. Jackson. Their combined forces amounted to 
four thousand men.' They drove the union forces before 
them wherever encountered, except at Clarksburg- and 
West Union. They did not attack either place. Their 
first attack was made upon Colonel George R. Latham's 
force of nearly nine hundred men at Beverly. Latham 
retreated to Buckhannon, and later to Clarksburg. Tha 



210 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



union forces at Sutton, in Braxton county, hurried to 
Clarksburg-, as did those at Bulltown, Birch, Weston, and 
other points in that part of the state. General B. S. 
Roberts was in command of the union forces in that part 
of the state. He. was urged to hold Clarksburg- at all haz- 
zards, and the forces, hurriedl} r concentrated there, were 
sufficient to deter the confederates from making an attack. 
The raiders reached the Baltimore and Ohio railroad at 
Cranberry Summit, in Preston county, and at Rowles- 
burg, Independence and other points. Major Showalter 
with two hundred and twenty men had fortified the moun- 
tain above Rowlesburg. He was attacked by General W. 
E. Jones with one thousand cavalry on Sunday, April 23. 
After a short resistance, Major Showalter retreated into 
Pennsylvania. General Lee had instructed General Jones 
to destroy the trestles on the Baltimore and Ohio road be- 
tween Rowlesburg and Tunnelton, but he failed to do so. 
The confederates occupied King wood, and marched to 
Morgantown where they looted stores, killed two citizens, 
and wounded a third, claiming that these citizens had 
attacked them. They burnt bridges as they went, and 
captured horses and cattle in large numbers. It was be- 
lieved that they were striking at Wheeling, and troops for 
its defense were hastily concentrated there; but no attack 
was made. They marched to Fairmont, and overrun that 
country. They advanced almost within sight of Parkers- 
burg; and at Burning Springs, on the Little Kanawha, 
they burned one hundred thousand barrels of crude 
petroleum at the oil wells. This was on May 9. Soon 
after this the invaders began to withdraw? and by Ma}^ 14 
the most of them recrossed the Alleghanies. They 
carried away fifteen hundred horses, more than three 
thousand cattle, and destroyed or carried away property 
to the value of millions of dollars. As soon as the confed- 
erates had left the country General Roberts returned with 
his forces. But his failure to stop the raid led to his re- 



MISCELLANEOUS WAR NOTES. 211 

moval from the command, and General W. W. Averell was 
sent to take charge of the troops. Confederate raids 
into his territory were unsuccessful, for he was as quick 
in movement as they, as able in planning- and as fearless 
in execution. 

A confederate raid had been made into Pennsylvania, 
and Chambersburg had been burnt because the inhabi- 
tants had refused to pay a ransom of half a million dollars. 
The rebels fled into West Virginia, crossed the Balti- 
more and Ohio railroad at New Creek, and reached Moore- 
ffeki on the South branch of the Potomac, and there rested 
in fancied security wuthin a day's march of the valley of 
Virginia. But, Averell pursued them, and just before day 
came up with them. An impetuous charge swept the con- 
federates from one bank of the river; and Averell crossed 
immediately, drove them from a wheat field where they 
had formed for battle; broke their lines in the timber 
where they had prepared an ambuscade, and put the army 
to flight in a few minutes. 

On January 1, 1864, a hght took place a short distance 
from Mooreneld between a strong confederate force, and a 
detachment of union soldiers under Colonel Joseph Snider, 
guarding a supply train on the road from New Creek to 
Petersburg, in Grant county. The union force was out- 
numbered and defeated with the loss of the train, and five 
killed and thirty-four wounded. In this skirmish General 
Nathan Goff, of Clarksburg,, was taken pioneer. His 
horse was shot, and falling upon him, held him until the 
confederates came up. 

On November 28, 1864, a confederate raid, under Gen- 
eral Rosser, penetrated to New Creek, captured the place, 
and tore up the railroad. A number of prisoners were 
taken, and the force hastily retired to the valley of Vir- 
ginia. A small raid was made about the same time on 
Beverly, in Randolph county, but not much damage was 
done. 



212 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 

An Unpopular Policy— On March 28, 1863, the 
" Fourth Separate Brigade " was created, and the com- 
mand was given to General Benjamin S. Roberts, who fixed 
his headquarters at Weston. His jurisdiction embraced 
the greater part of West Virginia, north of the Kanawha. 
Perhaps five out of six of the inhabitants of this district 
were supporters of the union cause; but many favored the 
confederacy, and General Roberts soon began a war upon 
tbeni. He was determined to drive them out of the coun- 
try. The majority of the men who sympathized with the 
south were at that time in the confederate armies; but 
their wives and children remained at home. One of Gen- 
eral Roberts' orders was, that ail those whose natural pro- 
tectors were eng-aged in war against the United States 
should be sent beyond the union lines. In obedience to 
this order, numbers of women and children from Lewis, 
Upshur, Harrison paid adjoining- counties were sent south 
into the confederate lines. This policy made General Rob- 
erts very unpopular, not only with the inhabitants, both 
southern and northern, in their sentiments, but also with 
his subordinate officers and the soldiers. The latter 
spoke their sentiments freely, and said the}^ had joined 
the army for the purpose of fighting armed men, not to 
make war upon women and children. 

When the confederate raid, under Jones, Jackson and 
Imboden was made into General Roberts' territory, and he, 
abandoned the country to pillage, the authorities over him 
decided it was time to make a change, and he was sent to 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and General W. W. Averell was 
given command of the Fourth brigade. His orders were 
dated May 18, 1863, and he was told to proceed to Weston,, 
"or wherever else you may find Brigadier General B. S. 
Roberts, and relieve him of his command." General Aver- 
ell was ordered to protect from raids the territory be- 
tween the Baltimore and Ohio railroad and the Kanawha, 
and to guard well the passes through the Cheat mountains. 



MISCELLANEOUS WAR NOTES. 213 

He was given liberty to pursue the confederates, even into 
the valley of Virginia, should occasion require. Ke was 
ordered to transform his infantry into cavalry; By a sys- 
tem of persistent drilling he soon had a force of three 
thousand cavalry, equal, perhaps, to the best the world has 
ever seen. It was said of him that his cavalry moved like 
a whirlwind and struck like a thunderbolt. He soon be- 
came the terror of the confederate outposts from Win- 
chester to the Tennessee line. The rapidity of his move- 
ments overcame resistence and baffled pursuit. 

At the time General Aver ell took command in West Vir- 
ginia be was about thirty years of age. A native of the 
state of New York, he graduated at West Point at the age 
of twenty-two, the head of a class in cavalry. He was a 
man of fine literary taste and culture. He was instructor 
in the government cavalry school, first at Jefferson, Mis- 
souri, and subsequently at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. At this 
school Fitzhugh Lee, W. H. Jackson, D. H. Maury and C. 
H. Tyler were his pupils; and their subsequent history 
shows that he instructed them well. General Averell was 
sent to New Mexico, and there fought Indians until 
wounded. He was a cripple two years, and was on 
crutches when the civil war begun, He was sent upon a 
perilous mission to carrv dispatches to the few United 
States posts in Texas and Arkansas, which were still hold- 
ing out against the attacks of the confederates. His jour- 
ney, after crossing the Mississippi, was one of dangers, 
hardships and desperate escapes. The country was in the 
hands of the confederates. He was pursued and captured; 
he escaped and swam rivers; he crossed the plains; he 
made his way through barren deserts and over pathless 
mountains, and at last reached the farthest Unite! States 
post in Texas, and found it surrounded and hard pressed 
by the confederates. He conducted the garrison north- 
ward to Kansas, and then hurried to Washington and was 
at once sent to the field in charge of cavalry. His success 



214 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



attracted notice at once, and when the need of an efficient 
cavalry officer in West Virginia was seen, he was sent 
here. It was desirable that such raids as Jones, Jackson 
and Imboden had made should not be repeated; and they 
were not repeated within Aver ell's territory. 

Expedition to Rocky Gap. — General Averell with- 
drew his forces from West Virginia to assist in the cam- 
paign against Lee in Pennsylvania. He did not arrive in 
time to take part in the battle of Gettysburg-, but he fought 
portions of Lee's army while it v/as retreating. He hast- 
ened to Moorefield, which he reached August 6. It became 
desirable to clear the country of confederates, if possible, 
along the borders of West Virginia and Virginia, from 
Pendleton county to Greenbrier. Imboden and Jones 
were in that country, and if was surmised and was subse- 
quently ascertained that they were contemplating a de- 
scent into the valley of the South branch. There were 
saltpeter works in Pendleton and Alleghany counties, 
which the confederates were operating in manufacturing 
g-unpowder, and Averell wished to destroy them. His 
command was short of ammunition, having only thirty-five 
cartridges to the man. It was short of horse shoes and 
nails, also. He ordered these supplies and waited for 
them some days, but the}" did not arrive. He could delay 
no longer, and set forward on the march to Pendleton 
county, part of bis force ascending the South branch and 
part the North fork. The saltpeter works five miles from 
Franklin were destroyed. He pushed on to Monterey in 
Highland county, Virginia. He came near surprising the 
confederate Generals Jones and Imboden. They had been 
there the day before, consulting whether they should 
march into the South branch valley. It was probably there 
learned that Averell was on the march, and Jones, Jackson 
and Imboden prepared for battle; but they misunderstood 
Averell's purpose. They supposed he was aiming at 
Staunton, and laid their plans accordingly. He proceeded 



MISCELLANEOUS WAR NOTES. 215 



to Huntersville, routing - three hand reel confederates on 
August 21, and on the next day another detachment was 
driven from a ravine near Hnntersville, utterly routed, 
losing nearly everything- in the way of arms and stores. 
Two days later Jackson was met, defeated, and driven out 
of Pocahontas county. Averell proceeded to Jackson river, 
where other saltpeter works were destroyed: also those 
near Coving-ton. 

The battle of Rocky Gap, near White Sulphur Spring's, 
in Greenbrier county, was at hand. General Jones, with 
two thousand five hundred confederates, accidentally found 
himself in front of Averell, whose force at that time was 
thirteen hundred, but other union troops came up later. 
The battle was a surprise to both sides,- but they went at 
it like veterans. It took place in a defile, and for a time the 
artillery played the chief part, and the cannonade was ter- 
rific. Aver ell's ammunition began to run short before sun- 
set, but he held his ground all night. The confederates 
ran short of ammunition also, but during the night they 
received a fresh supply, and they likewise received rein- 
forcements from the direction of Lewisburg. Averell ex- 
pected reinforcements from General Scammon, in the 
Kanawha valley, and looked in vain for them all night. 
Although he had more than held his own since ten o'clock 
in the morning, having pushed the confederates back, he 
knew that he could not maintain his position without cart- 
ridges. During the night he brought up all the ammuni- 
tion in the wagons and distributed it among his troops, and 
sent everv available man to the front. In speaking of his 
situation, Averell afterwards said: "Two chances re- 
mained, first, the enemy might retreat; and second, Scam- 
mon might arrive. The morning showed us that both 
chances had failed." Every arrangement had been made 
for retreat; but as soon as it was light, the battle was re- 
newed and Averell held his ground till after ten o'clock, 
and tl en withdrew, an 1 after some skirmishing, reached 



216 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

Beverly on August 31. His loss in killed and wounded was 
about one hundred and fifty. The loss of the confederates 
was a little larger. Among- Aver ell's officers who fell was 
Captain Paul V on Koenig. It is said he was killed by his 
own men in revenge for his having struck several of them 
during the march from Mooreiield. It is also said that 
those who killed him did not know Aver ell by sififht, and 
supposed that Koenig- was Aver ell. 

Droop Mountain. — In • November, 1853, occurred 
the Droop Mountain campaign, so name! from the place 
where an important battle was fought, November 6, be- 
tween General Averell and a force of four thousand con- 
federates under Major Echols. Averell's campaign into 
Greenbrier county, terminating at Rocky Gap, had not 
resulted in clearing- that region of confederates. He pre- 
pared for another advance and set forward from Beverly 
November 1. He was promised support from the Kana- 
wha valley, under General Dame. He no doubt remem- 
bered that lie had been promised support from the same 
source on the former campaign into that region, and had 
been disappointed. On the present occasion he provided 

„ himself with plenty of ammunition, so that, in case assis- 
tance again failed him, he could light to a finish. 

There was skirmishing- all the way to Huntersville, and 
small parties of rebels were killed, captured or dispersed. 
The first considerable force of confederates was encount- 
ered near Huntersville, under command of Colonel Thomp- 
son, but it fell back on the main body without a fight. A 
few miles further a larger confederate force was met, but 
it also retreated without a fight. The union forces were 
now within thirty-four miles of Lewisburg. The confed- 
erates took position on Droop mountain and offered battle. 
They were advantag-eously placed, and a direct attack was 
believed by Averell to be difficult. He prepared a flank 

• movement, and also purposely delayed the attack till the 
next day in hope that General Duffle's expected reinforce- 



MISCELLANEOUS WAR NOTES. 217 

merits would arrive. They did not arrive, and the next 
morning- General Aver ell beg-an the battle. He sent a force 
to gain the flank and rear of the confederate position and 
he moved up in front. In the meantime reinforcements 
arrived for the enemy, and their coming was announced by 
joiid yells and by a band of music. Colonel Moor, with 
more than one thousand men, bad been entrusted with the 
flanking movement. The guides who went with him 
proved worthless, and he was obliged to proceed the best 
he could; and the result was he did not reach his destina- 
tion till nearly two o'clock in the af ternoon, having marched 
nine miles through woods and over hills. 

'General Averell's practiced eye detected the confusion 
in the ranks of the confederates on the mountain when they 
disco /ere d Colonel Moor's advance upon their flank. An 
attack from the front was at once ordered, and the union 
troops moved up the mountain. In the meantime the artil- 
lery po ired a fire upon the confederates. They held their 
ground an hour and a quarter and then gave way every- 
where and fled. The pursuit was vigorous, and the con- 
federate were scattered. A portion of them passed through 
Lewisburg the next morning in a deplorable condition. 
They lost in killed and wounded two hundred and fifty; 
one gun was abandoned on the held and two more in the 
retreat. This left .Echols only four guns. 

Averell proceeded to Lewisburg and found the 'promised 
reinforcements there under General Duffle. It was ascer- 
tained that the confederates had retreated in the direction 
of Dublin, on the Virginia and Tennessee railroad. It was 
also learned that General Lee had promised to send ample 
reinforcements to Major Echols at or near that point. This 
information induced Averell to march for that place in hope 
of capturing or scattering the forces there. He set for- 
ward on November 8 with his entire command, including 
Duffle's reinforcements. The confederates had blockaded 
the road and much labor was required to cut it out. Gen- 



218 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 



era! Duffie reported his troops unfit for service, as they 
had no rations and were tired. The march to Dublin was 
therefore given up and Averell returned to Beverly, de- 
feating- Imboden on the road. Vv hile in Greenbrier county 
Averell went to White Sulphur Spring's and recaptured his 
wounded prisoners who had fallen into the hands of the 
rebels at the battle of Rocky Gap in the preceding August. 
Averell's loss at Droop mountain is not stated, except that 
he had fifty-five wounded, On November 17 his command 
arrived at New Creek. 

The Salem Raid. — The memorable raid to Salem, in 
Roanoke county, Virginia, sixty miles west of Lynchburg-, 
followed. This was Averell's crowning- feat. No g-eneral 
ever performed a greater, taking into account the numbers 
engaged, the difficulties of the way, and the dang-ers 
throug'h which ne passed. It can be fittingly compared to 
Xenophon's "Retreat of the Ten Thousand" through Per- 
sia, although, of course, on a much smaller scale, both as 
to numbers engaged and distance traveled. The govern- 
ment at Washington fully realized the dangers when it 
sent Averell upon the raid, nor was any effort made to con- 
ceal from him the fact that he was probabhy about to march 
into the jaws of death. He was ordered to cut the Vir- 
ginia and Tennessee railroad at Salem at all hazzards, even 
at the cost of the destruction of his whole army. A mo- 
mentous issue was at stake. General Burnsides was be- 
sieged at Knoxville, Tennessee, by General Longstreet, 
and it was feared that no help could reach him in time to 
save him. The only hope lay in cutting Longstreet's line 
of supplies and compelling him to raise the siege. This 
line was the railroad from Richmond to Knoxville, passing 
through Salem. Four confederate armies, any one of them 
larger than Averell's, lay between him and the railroad 
marked for destruction. But when the order was given, 
his veteran cavalry, stationed at New Creek, now Keyser, 
W est Virginia, went forward, moving in a course almost 



MISCELLANEOUS WAR NOTES. 219 



as straight as an arrow; rode five days and nights; struck 
a blow at Salem which was felt throughout the Southern 
Confederacy; and out-rode, out-ran, outgeneraled and out- 
fought twelve thousand rebels that tried to hem them in, 
and they returned in triumph. The story is worth a state- 
ment more in detail. His force was largely West Vir- 
ginians, and many of the old veterans still live, and not a 
few of them attribute their broken constitutions to the 
terrible hardships endured during the twenty days occu- 
pied in that raid; now drenched with rain; now climbing 
mountains and dragging cannon by band in cold so intense 
that cattle froze to death in the fields. 

General Averell's force reached New Creek November 
18, from the Droop mountain campaign. On December 6, 
1863, he was notified that hard service was ahead of him, 
and to prepare for it. That night he went to Cumberland 
to consult with the department commander concerning the 
proposed raid. Averell asked that movements be made 
from several quarters against the confederates near his 
line of march, to confuse them as to the real object of the 
raid, and also to assist him in making his escape after 
leaving Salem. He knew that confederate troops would 
be rushing from all sides to intercept him. His line of 
march was from New Creek, through Petersburg, Frank- 
lin, Monterey, Back Creek, Gatewood's C?Jlag"han's, Sweet 
Sulphur Springs, New Castle to Salem; much of the way 
following the general line of the summit of the Alleghanies. 
In order to distract attention from him he asked that 
General Scammon advance from the Kanawha to Green- 
brier and Monroe counties; Colonel Moor to march into 
Pocahontas count5 r ; Colonel Sullivan to threaten Staunton 
from the direction of Woodstock in tht Shenandoah valle}^; 
Colonel T hob urn was to threaten Staunton from the direc- 
tion of Monterey. 

The march began December 8. Sufficient time was not 
given to shoe all the horses before starting, and the 



220 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



soldiers had to finish it on the road whenever an oppor- 
tunity was presented; and these opportunities did not 
come often. The command of about thirty-three hundred 
men reached Monterey December 11. Colonel Thohurn 
with seven hundred men was sent to threaten Staunton, 
and Aver ell moved on in a terrible rain which swelled the 
mountain streams to torrents. In the eastern part of 
Pocahontas county he had a fight with confederates under 
Jackson, dispersed them, destroyed their wag-ons, and 
hurried on, following - an obscure road through incessant 
rains. On December 14 he was opposite Greenbrier 
county, but east of the Alleghanies, and here learned that 
forces of confederates under Echols were in Monroe 
county, almost ahead of him, having been driven there by 
General Scammon who had advanced from the Kanawha 
valley. In order to deceive these confederate's, Averell 
made a false movement in the direction of Covington; then, 
at two o'clock on the morning of December 15, pushed 
forward up Dunlap creek, in a night as dark as dungeon. 

A ride of eight hours brought the squadron to Sweet 
Sulphur valley where a halt was made of two hours to feed 
the horses and make coffee, preparing for the dash into 
Salem which they hoped to reach by daylight the next 
morning. At one o'clock in the afternoon of December 15, 
the advance was made. From the top of Sweet Springs 
mountain a splendid view was opened before them. Av- 
erell, in his official report spealfs of it thus: "Seventy 
miles to the eastward the Peaks of Otter reared their 
summits above the Blue Ridge, and all the space between 
was filled with a billowing ocean of hills and mountains; 
while behind us the ^reat Alleghanies, coming from the 
north with the grandeur of innumerable tints, swept past, 
and faded in the southern horizon. 5 ' Newcastle was 
passed during the night. Averell's advance guard were 
mounted on fleet horses, and carried repeating rifles. 
They allowed no one to go ahead of them. They cap- 



MISCELLANEOUS WAR NOTES. 221 



tured a squad of confederates now and then, and learned 
from these that Averell's advance was as yet unknown in 
that quarter. It was, however, known at that time at 
Salem, but it was not known at what point he was striking*. 
Valuable military stores were at Salem, and at that very 
time a trainload of soldiers was hurrying up from Lynch- 
burg- to guard the place. When within four miles of 
Salem a troop of confederates were captured. They. had 
come out to see if they could learn any thing- of Averell, 
and from them it was ascertained that the soldiers from 
Lynchburg- were hourly expected at Salem. Averell saw 
that no time was to be lost. From this point it became a 
race between Averell's cavalry and the Lynchburg" train 
loaded with confederates, each trying- to reach Salem first. 
The whistling- of the engine in the distance was heard, 
and Averell saw that he would be too late if he advanced 
with his whole force. So, he set forward with three hun- 
dred and fifty horsemen, and two rilled cannon, and went 
into Salern on a dead run; people on the road and streets 
parting- rig-ht and left to let the squadron pass. The train 
loaded with confederates was approaching the depot. 
Averell wheeled a cannon into position and fired three 
times in rapid succession, the first ball missing-, but the 
next passing- through the train almost from end to end, 
and the third following close after. The locomotive was 
uninjured, and it reversed, and backed up the road in a 
hurry, disappearing in the direction whence it had come. 
Averell cut the teleg-raph wires. The work of destroying 
the railroad was begun. When the remainder of the force 
came up, detachments were sent four miles east and 
twelve miles west to destroy the railroad and bridg-es. 

Among- the stores destroyed were one hundred thousand 
bushels of shelled corn; ten thousand bushels of wheat; 
two thousamd barrels of flour; fifty thousand bushels of 
oats; one thousand sacks of salt; one hundred wagons, and 
large quartities of clothing, leather, cotton, harness, shoes, 



222 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



saddles, tools, and many other thing's. The depot, water 
station, turntables, a large pile of bridge timber, and other 
stores were burned. Five bridges were destroyed and 
the track torn up as much as possible for sixteen miles, 
and the rails twisted to render them useless. Private 
property was untouched. Six hours were spent in the 
work of destruction. 

It was now 4 p. m,, December 16, and Averell set out 
upon his return. Word had been given out that he would 
take the road to Buchanan; but this was a -ruse, and it sub- 
sequently proved that the confederates had been deceived 
by it and had marched toward that point, expecting- to head 
Averell off. But he was many miles away. He had started 
back over the way by which he came. Seven miles from 
Salem a halt was made for the night. The troops were ex- 
hausted, and a rest was absolutely necessary. That night 
it rained heavily, and for the following twenty-four hours. 
It looked as if Averell's force was doomed. He had per- 
formed the work which he was sent to do, and all that re- 
mained for him was to save himself if he could. The con- 
federates were closing in on all sides. Fitzhugh Eee, 
Jackson, Early, Echols, each had an army, and s mallei- 
forces were on a.ll sides. Averell was hemmed in, and 
practically surrounded by more than twelve thousand reb- 
els; and that, too, while rain fell in torrents; creeks over- 
flowed their banks; rivers deluged the country; bridges 
were broken down or destroyed; nearly every avenue of 
escape was held by the enemy in overwhelming numbers. 
Averell's troops dared everything, endured everything, 
rain, cold, hunger, fatigue, assaults of enemies seen and 
unseen. In crossing the raging torrents, heavy caissons 
were swept away and men and horses were drowned. 
But there was no rest. The only escape from destruction 
was to push on; and on Averell went. He captured con- 
federate scouts and learned something of the positions of 
their forces. There was little comfort in this. Fitzhugh. 



MISCELLANEOUS WAR NOTES. 



223, 



Lee was ahead of him and Jones was ready to fall on his 
flank, while Echols, Jackson and Early were uncomforta- 
bly near. Aver ell was trying- to cross into West Virginia 
in Monroe, Greenbrier or Pocahontas county. Echols was 
in Monroe, shutting' off escape in that quarter. 

Drenched with rain, muddy and hungry, the force 
reached Newcastle about sunset December 18. The am- 
munition was wet, and Aver ell did not know whether it 
could be used in battle. At nine o'clock that night the col- 
umn again took the road to Sweet Springs. About two 
o'clock in the morning- of December 19, confederate pickets 
were encountered. These fled. As soon as the confed- 
erate pickets were driven away, Averell halted and built 
fires to deceive the enemy whom he knew to be near. He 
left the fires burning- and set forward toward the Coving-- 
ton and Fincastle pike. The night was exceedingly dark 
and cold. He marched thirty miles through the forest,, 
and about noon reached the Fincastle pike, fifteen miles 
from the bridge below Covington, across the James. The 
river was report 3d unfordable, on account of high water 
and floating ice. Averell carefully calculated his chances 
of reaching this bridge in advance of the confederates. 
He had his doubts; but there was no other avenue of es- 
cape, and he set forward toward the bridge. After pro- 
ceeding seven miles a confederate force appeared in the 
road ahead between him and the bridge. An attack on the 
confederates was immediately made. They broke and 
fled, and Averell's cavalry after them. For eight miles it 
w r as a desperate race. Averell knew that the rebels were 
trying- to reach the bridge to set it on fire before he could 
cross; and he was determined they should have no time to 
strike a match. Down the pike went the rebels in a head- 
long run for the bridge, and Averell at their heels. At 
nine o'clock at night the bridge was reached. The con- 
federates had kindling wood piled ready for firing', but 
they were not given time to apply the match, Averell 



224 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

caplir^d the bridge. Five miles beyond was another, 
across ; the same river, and the rebels proceeded to that, 
and the- union cavalry followed. Fagots had been piled 
oil it also for firing, but the union cavalry was ' i time to 
save it. " N 

Before Aver ell could get his forces across x he bridges 
the confederates under Jackson were upon him. They 
took position upon the bluff above the river and cut his army 
in two. Part was on one side of the river and part on the 
other. The confederates made desperate efforts to cap- 
ture the bridge, but failed. The battle continued all night, 
and Averell lost one hundred and twenty-four men, besides , 
some drowned while trying- to cross the river. Finding 
that -Jackson could not be dislodged while the bridges re- 
mained, Averell, who had tried unsuccessfully all night to 
bring- the remainder of his forces across, ordered the 
bridges to be set on fire. He sent word to his men still on 
the other side to swim the river. This they did, but some 
of the ambulances and wagons were lost. 

While hemmed in on all sides, and when apparently every 
avenue of escape was closed, Averell intercepted a dispatch 
from General Jones to General Early, dated December 19. 
From this dispatch he learned the positions of the various 
forces of the confederates around him. The outlook was 
gloomy, but by knowing what routes were impassable he 
could gain some advantage. He relied on help from the 
forces which he supposed had been sent to Greenbrier and 
Pocahontas counties, according to orders, to render him 
assistance on his return. But by some blunder these 
forces had been withdrawn, although he did know it at 
that. time. The demonstrations against Staunton had also 
failed to be of any service to him. Thus, cut off from all 
hope of help, he was left in the mountains to struggle 
against four or five times his own number. But the brave 
never despair. From the intercepted dispatch he learned 

that the rebel post at Callighan's, near the summit of the 

17 , 



MISCELLANEOUS WAR NOTES. 



225 



Alleghanies, was held by only a small force, if at 11, and 
he pushed for that place, and was in possession of ft while 
the bridges across the James river were still burning^ A 
fcormal c land for his surrender was received frjin Gen- 
eral Early, but he made no reply to it. He took an obscure 
road across the Alleghanies to Hillsboro, in Pocahontas 
county, and reached the base of Droop mountain, his re- 
cent battlefield. The confederates made almost super- 
human efforts to capture him, but they usually took wrong- 
roads. The citizens of the country, who knew the roads 
best, considered Averell's escape impossible. After reach- 
ing- Pocahontas county and crossing- the Greenbrier river, 
several attacks on the rear were made by the confederates, 
but they were g-enerally repulsed with small loss. 

The weather had now grown intensely cold. The roads 
were sheets of ice. The horses could not pull the artillery 
up the hills, and men performed this service. Nor could 
the heavy gums be held back, going- down hill. Trees 
were tied behind the cannon to act as brakes while de- 
scending the mountains. For two days men dragged the 
cannon. News had reached Beverly that Averell was 
returning, hungry, freezing and almost exhausted. Rein- 
forcements, with supplies were sent to meet him. Beverly 
was reached after a march of four hundred miles in six- 
teen days. Many of the men were frozen. Averell's feet 
were swollen and were wrapped in sacks. Fearing that 
the confederates would retaliate by sending a force on a 
raid into the South branch valley, Averell did not stop at 
Beverly, but proceeded to the railroad in Taylor county, 
and moved his command by rail to Martinsburg, arriving 
there just in time to confront and drive back the rebels 
who were advancing upon that place. The United States 
government, in consideration of the services rendered by 
Averell's force, presented each man with a new suit of 
clothes and a new pair of shoes to replace those worn out 
on the march. 



226 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



The Dublin Haid.—In May, 1864, an important 
movement was made against the Virginia and Tennessee 
railroad, in the vicinity of the village of Dublin, in Pulaski 
county. The cavalry was under the command of General 
Averell, while General George Crook was in command of 
all the forces. On May 9 occurred a desperate battle on 
Cloyd mountain, near the boundary between Giles and 
Pulaski counties, Virginia. General Crook commanded 
the union forces, and the confederates were under General 
Albert G. Jenkins. For a long time the issue of the battle 
was doubtful; but at length General Jenkins fell, and his 
army gave way. He was mortally wounded, and died soon 
after. His arm had been amputated at the shoulder by a 
federal surgeon. In the meantime General Averell, with a 
force of cavalry, two thousand strong, advanced by 
wretched roads and miserable paths through Wyoming- 
county, West Virginia, into Virginia, hoping to strike at 
Saltville, or Wytheville before the confederates could con- 
centrate for defense. When the troops entered Tazewell 
county they had numerous skirmishes with small parties 
of confederates. When Tazewell court house was reached 
it was learned that between four and five thousand confed- 
erates, commanded by Generals W. E. Jones and John H. 
Morgan, had concentrated at Saltville, having learned of 
Aver ell's advance. The defences north of that town were 
so strongly fortified that the union troops could not attack 
with hope of success. Averell turned, and made a rapid 
march toward Wytheville, in order to prevent the confed- 
erates from marching to attack General Crook. Arriving 
near Wytheville on May 10, he met Jones and Morgan, 
with five thousand men, marching to attack General Crook. 
Averell made an attack on them, or they on him, as both 
sides appeared to begin the battle about the same time. 
Although out-numbered and out-flanked, the union forces 
held their ground four hours, at which time the vigor of 
the confederate fighting- began to slack. After dark the 



MISCELLANEOUS WAS NOTES. 227 

confederates withdrew. The union loss was one hundred 
and fourteen in killed and wounded. Averell made a dash 
for Dublin, and the confederates followed as fast as possi- 
ble. The bridge across New river, and other bridges, 
were destroyed, and the railroad was torn up, Soon after 
crossing- New river on the morning- of May 12, the confed- 
erates arrived on the opposite bank, but they could not 
cross the stream. They had been unable to prevent the 
destruction of the railroad property, althoug-h their forces 
out-numbered Averell's. The union cavalry rejoined 
General Crook, and the army returned to the Kanawha 
valley by way of Monroe county. 

J^otcs. — West Virginia furnished 36,530 soldiers for 
the union armies, and about 7,000 for the confederate 
armies. 

The first union regiment recruited in the state was Col- 
onel Kelley's, at Wheeling-. It took the field May 25, 1861. 

The first armed confederate killed in the state, and also 
said to be the first killed in the war, was Captain Christian 
Roberts. His death occurred on the morning- of May 27, 
1861, at Glover's Gap, on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, 
between Wheeling- and Grafton. He fell in a light with a 
squad of union soldiers under Lieutenant Oliver R. W est. 
Company A, Second Virg-inia Infantry, afterwards the 
Fifth West Virg-inia Cavalry. 

The first enlisted union soldier killed in the state, and also 
said to be the first killed in the war, was Bailey Brown, of 
Company B, Second Virg-inia Infantry, afterwards Fifth 
West Virginia Cavalry. He was killed at Fetterman, near 
Grafton, on the night of May 22, 1861. The shot was fired 
from a flintlock musket in the hands of Daniel W. S. 
Knight, of Captain Robinson's company, Twenty-fifth Vir- 
ginia confederate regiment. 

The first regiment to enlist for the three years service 
in the state was the Second West Virginia infantry. 

The last gun ever put into position by General Lee was 



22B 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



silenced by General Thomas S. Harris, of West Virginia, 
on the day of the surrender at Appomattox; and the last 
bugle command given the union troops prior to Lee's sur- 
render, was given by Nathaniel Sisson, also a West Vir- 
ginian, 



CHAPTER XIX, 



«o» 

THE NEWSPAPERS OF WEST VIRGINIA, 

Newspaper history commenced in the territory now 
forming West Virginia, nearly one hundred years ago; 
that is, in 1803. The beginning was small, but ambitious; 
and although the first journal to make its appearance in the 
state, ceased to pay its visits to the pioneers generations 
ago; yet, from that small beginning has grown a press 
which will rank with that of any state in the union, if pop- 
ulation and other conditions are taken into account. West 
Virginia has no large city, and consequently has no paper 
of metropolitan pretensions; but its press fulfills every 
requirement of its people; faithfully represents every bus- 
iness interest; maintains every honorable political princi- 
ple; upholds morality; encourages education, and has its 
strength in the good will of the people. This chapter can 
do little more than present an outline of the growth of 
journalism in this state, together with facts and figures 
relating to the subject. 

The first paper published in W est Virginia was the 
Monongalia Gazette, at Morgcintown in 1803. The Farm- 
er's Register, printed at Charlestown, Jefferson county, 
was the next. These were the only papers in the state in 
1810. The oldest paper still being published in West Vir- 
ginia is the Virginia Free Press, printed at Charlestown, 
Jefferson county. It was founded in 1821. The Monon- 
galia Gazette was perhaps an up-to-date journal in its day; 
but it would be unsatisfactory at the present time. It was 
in four page form, each page sixteen inches long and ten 
inches wide. There were four columns to the pag-e. Its 



230 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



editors were Campbell & Britton; its subscription rate 
was six cents a copy, or two dollars a year. It was impos- 
sible that a weekly paper so small could efficiently cover 
the news, even though the news of that day was far below 
the standard set for the present time. Yet, had such a 
paper been edited in accordance with modern ideas, it 
could have exerted a much wider influence than it did ex- 
ert. No other paper was near enough to make inroads 
upon its field of circulation and influence; and it might 
have had the whole region to itself. But it did not expand, 
as might have been expected; >on the contrary, within three 
years it reduced its size about one-half. More space in it 
was given to foreign news than to the happenings of county, 
state and nation. Before the days of railroads, steam- 
boats and telegraphing, it may readily be understood that 
the events recorded from foreign countries were so stale 
at the date of their publication in the backwoods paper 
that they almost deserved classification as ancient history. 
The domestic news, particularly that relating to distant 
states, was usually several weeks old before it found place 
in the Gazette* County occurrences, and happenings in 
the neighboring- counties, were given little attention. 
Man} 7 a valuable scrap of local history might have been 
permanently preserved in that pioneer journal; but the 
county historian looks through the crumpled and yellow 
files in vain. But, on the other hand, he encounters numer- 
ous mentions of Napoleon's movements; the emperor of 
Russia's undertakings, and England's achievements; all of 
which would be of value as history were it not that Guizot, 
Rambaud and Knight have given us the same things in 
better style; so that it is labor thrown away to search for 
them in the circumscribed columns of a pioneer paper 
printed, on the forest-covered banks of the Monongahela. 
Joseph Campbell, one of the editors and proprietors of the 
Gazette, had learned the printing trade in Philadelphia. 
It is not known at what date the papsr suspended publica- 



TKE NEWSPAPERS OF WEST VIRGINIA 231 

lion. It was customary in early times, as well as at the 
present day, to incorporate two or more papers into one, 
drop the name of one and continue the publication. The 
Gazette may thus have passed quietly out of its individual 
existence. 

Monongalia county fostered the first newspaper west of 
the Alleghanies in the state, and it also has had perhaps as 
many papers as any county of West Virginia. The full 
list, from the first till the present time, numbers between 
thirty and forty. The list compiled bv Samuel T. Wiley, 
the historian of Monong-alia, shows that the county had 
thirty-one papers prior to 1330. Nearly all of these sus- 
pended after brief careers. It would be difficult to com- 
pile a list of all the papers established in this state from 
the earliest times till the present. It would perhaps be 
impossible to do so, for some of them died in their infancy, 
and a copy cannot now be found. There were, no doubt, 
many whose very names are not now remembered. It 
would not be an extravagant estimate to place the total 
number of papers published in this state, both those still 
in existence and those which are dead, at five hundred. It 
would be a surprise to many persons to learn how ephem- 
eral is the average newspaper. It comes and goes. It has 
its beginning, its prosperity, its adversity, its death. 
Another follows in its path, Few can be called relatively 
permanent. There are now more than one hundred news- 
papers published in West Virginia. Only nine of these 
were in existence in 1863, when the state was admitted 
into the union. These nine are the Wheeling- Intelligencer, 
Wheeling- Register, Clarksburg- Telegram, Charlestown 
Free Press,' Charlestown Spirit of Jeiferson, Shepherds- 
town Register, Barbour County Jelfersonian, Wellsburg 
Herald and Point Pleasant Register. Of the papers in exis- 
tence in this state in 1370 only sixteen have come down to 
the present dav. The cause of the early death of so many 
papers which begin life in such earnest hope is that the 



232 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 



field is full. Two newspapers try to exist where there is 
room for only one. It does not req uire an evolutionist to 
foretell the result. Both must starve or one must quit. 
If one quits there is always another anxious to push in and 
try its luck. 

West Virginia's does net differ from experiences else- 
where. Journalism in country towns is much the same 
the country over. In cities the business is more stable, 
because conducted on business principles. Men with ex- 
perience and business training* accustom themselves to look 
before they leap. The inexperienced man who is ambiti- 
ous to crowd some one else out of the newspaper business 
in the interior towns is too prone to leap first and do his 
looking- afterwards. There is no scarcity of g-ood news- 
paper men outside the cities, and West Virginia has its 
share; but at the same time, there are too many persons 
who feel themselves called upon to enter the arena, 
althougii unprepared for the fray, and who cannot hold 
their own in competition with men of training in the pro- 
fession. To the efforts and failures of these latter persons 
is due the ephemeral character of the lives of newspapers, 
taken as a whole. Country journalism comes to be looked 
upon as a changing, evanescent, uncertain thing-, always- 
respectable; only moderately and occasionally successful;, 
inaug-urated in 'hope; full of promise as the rainbow is full 
of gold; sometimes materializing into things excellent; now 
and then falling- like Lucifer, but always to hope ag-ain.- 
There is something- sublime in the rural journalist's faith 
in his ability to push forward. Though failures have been 
many, country journalism has builded greater than it 
knew. West Virginia's development and the rural press 
have gone hand in hand. Every railroad pushing into the 
wilderness has carried the civilizing- editor and his outfit. 
He goes with an unfaltering belief in printer's ink and con- 
fidence in its conquering- power. He is ready to do and 
suffer all things. The mining town and the latest county 



THE NEWSPAPERS OF WEST VIRGINIA. 233 

seat; the lumber center and the oil belt; the manufacturing 
village and the railroad terminus; these are the fields in 
which he casts his lot. Here he sets up his press; he issues 
his paper; he booms the town; he records the births, mar- 
riages and deaths with a monotonous faithfulness; he ex- 
presses his opinion freely and generously. In return he 
expects the town and the surrounding country to support 
his enterprise as liberally as he has given his time, talent 
and energy in advancing the interests of the town. Some- 
times his expectations are realized; sometimes not. If not, 
perhaps he packs his wordly assets and sets out lor 
another town, richer in experience but poorer in cash. 
There are men in West Virginia who have founded a num- 
ber of newspapers, usually selling out after a year or two 
in order to found another journal. 

This is the class of editors who blaze the way into the 
woods. They bsar the same relation to the journalism 
which follows as the "tomahawk right" bore, in early days, 
to the plantations and estates which succeeded them. 
After the adventurous and restless journalist has passed 
on, then comes the newspaper man who calculates before 
he. invests. He doss not come in a hurry. He is not afraid 
some one will get ahead of him. He does not locate before 
he has caref'uby surveyed the field,, and has satisfied him- 
self that the town and the surrounding- country are able to 
support such a journal as he proposes establishing. His 
aim is to merit and receive the patronage of the people. 
This becomes the solid, substantial paper, and its editor 
wields a permanent influence for good. Such papers and 
such editors are found ail over West Virginia. 

Journalism among businesses is like poetry among the 
fine arts — the most easily dabbled in but the most difficult 
to succeed in. It may not appear to the casual observer 
that the newspaper business is nearly always unsuccess- 
ful, or, at least, that nearly all the papers which come into 
existence meet untimely death in the very blossom of their 



234 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



youth. An examination of the history of newspapers in 
nearly any old town will show that ten have failed where 
one lias succeeded. The history of journalism in Monon- 
.g-alia county, already alluded to, differs little from the 
history of the papers in any county of equal age and popu- 
lation. 

In 1851 whenHorace Greeley was asked by a parliamen- 
tary committee from England "at what amount of popula- 
tion of a town in America do they first begin the publica- 
tion of a weekly newspaper?" he replied that every county 
will have one, and a county of twenty thousand popula- 
tion usually has two weekly papers; and when a town has 
fifteen thousand people it usually has a daily paper. This 
rule does not state the case in West Virginia today. The 
average would probably show one newspaper for each six 
thousand people. In the small counties the average 
is sometimes as low as one paper to two thousand people; 
and not one fourth of these people subscribe for a paper. 
It is not difficult to see that the field can be easily over- 
supplied; and among newspapers there must be a survival 
of the fittest. 

The early journals published in this state, as well as 
those published elsewhere at that time, say seventy or 
eighty years ago, were very different in appearance from 
those of today. The paper on which the printing was 
done was rough, rugged and discolored, harsh to the 
touch, and of a quality inferior to wrapping paper of the 
present time. Some of them advertised that they would 
take clean rags at four cents a pound in payment of sub- 
scriptions. At that time paper was made from rags. It is 
now mostly made from wood. The publishers no doubt 
shipped the rags to the paper mills and received credit on 
their paper accounts. Some of these early journals clung 
io the old style of punctuation and capitalization; and some, 
to judge by their appearance, followed no style at all, but 
were as outlandish as possible, particularly in the use of 



THE NEWSPAPERS OF WEST VIRGINIA. 235 

•capital letters. They capitalized all nouns, and as many- 
other words as they could, being* limited, apparently, only 
"by the number of capital letters in their type cases. 

As late as 1835 all the printing- presses in the United 
States were run by hand power. On the earliest press 
the pressure necessary was obtained by means of a screw. 
Fifty papers an hour was fast work. The substitution of 
the lever for the screw increased the capacity of the press 
live fold. This arrangement reached its greatest develop- 
ment in the ¥v 7 ashiiigton hand press, patented in 1829 by 
Samuel Rust. This press is still the standby in many 
small offices. The printing" done with it is usually good; 
but the speed is slow, and two hundred and fifty impres- 
sions an hour is a hig-h average. Printers call this press 
"The Man Killer," because its operation requires so much 
physical exertion. 

The early newspapers in backwoods towns attempted to 
pull neck and neck with the city journals. They tried to 
.give the news from all over the world; and the result was, 
they let the home news go. They were long - in learning 
that a small paper's field should be small, and that the 
readers of a local paper expect that paper to contain the 
local news. Persons who desired national and foreign 
news subscribed for metropolitan papers. This was the 
case years ago the same as now. In course of time the 
lesson was learned; the local papers betook themselves to 
their own particular fields with the result that the home 
paper has become a power at home. The growth of 
journalism has a tendency to restrict the influence of indi- 
vidual great papers to smaller and smaller geographical 
limits. All round the outer borders of their areas of 
' circulation, other papers are taking- possession of their 
territory, and limiting them. No daily paper now has a 
general and large circulation farther away from the place 
of publication than can be reached in a few hours. This 
is not so much the case with small papers. When once 



236 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



firmly established they can hold their small circulation and 
local influence much more securely than large circulation 
and large influence can be held by metropolitan papers. 
The trouble with the country papers is that the most of 
them die before they can establish themselves. 

Some of the earlier statesmen feared danger from what 
they termed a newspaper aristocracy, formed by the con- 
centration of the influence of the press about a compara- 
tively few journals advantageously located in commercial 
centers. This danger is feared no more. The power of 
the press has been infinitesimally divided; among the 
metropolitan papers first; then among those in the smaller 
cities; lastly, among those in the smaller towns, until all 
fear of concentration is a thing of the past. The funda- 
mental law of evolution, which rules the influence of the 
press as it rules the destinies of nations, or the growth 
and decline of commerce and political power, renders it 
impossible that any aggregate of newspapers, acting in 
concert, can long wield undisputed influence over wide 
areas. They must divide into smaller aggregates, and 
subdivide again, each smaller aggregate exercising its 
peculiar power in its own appropriated sphere, and not 
trespassing upon the domains of others. The lowest sub- 
division is the country paper; and so secure is it from the 
inroads of the city journals that it can hold its ground as 
securely as the metropolitan journal can hold its field 
against the paper of the interior. 



CHAPTER XX. 



«o» 

GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE 

111 this chapter will be presented facts concerning- West 
Virginia geography, climate, soil and geology. Its geog- 
raphy relates to the surface of the state as it exists now; 
its geology takes into account, not only the present sur- 
face, but all' changes which have affected the surface in 
the past, together with as much of the interior as may be 
known and understood. The climate, like geography, 
deals chie^y with present conditions; but the records of 
geology sometimes give us glimpses of climates which 
prevailed ages ago. The soil of a state, if properly studied, 
is found to depend upon geography, geology and climatol- 
ogy. The limits prescribed for this chapter render im- 
possible any extended treatise; an outline must suffice. 

Reference to the question of geology naturally comes 
first, as it is older than our present geography or climate. 
We are told that there was a time when the heat of the 
earth was so great that all substances within it or upon its 
surface were in a molten state. It was a white-hot globe 
made of all the minerals. The iron, silver, g~old, rock, 
and all else were liquid. The earth was then larger than 
it is now, and the days and nights were longer. After 
ages of great length had passed, the surface cooled and a 
crust or shell was formed on the still very hot globe. 
This was the first appearance of "rock," as we understand 
the word now. The surface of the earth was no doubt 
very rough, but without high mountains. The crust was 
not thick enough to support high mountains, and all under- 
neath of if was still melted. Probably for thousands of 



238 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



years after the first solid crust made its appearance, there- 
was no rain, althoug-h the air was more filled with mois- 
ture then than now. The rocks were so hot that a drop of 
water upon touching the in was instantly turned to steam. 
But they gradually cooled, and rains fell. Up to this point 
in the earth's history we are guided solely by inductions 
from the teaching's of astronomy, assisted to some extent 
by well-known facts of chemistiw. Any description of our 
world at that time must be speculative, and as applicable 
to one part as to another. No human eye ever saw, and 
recognized as such, one square foot of the original crust of 
the earth, in the form in which it cooled from the molten 
state. Rains, winds, frosts and fire have 'broken up and 
worn away some parts, and with the sand and sediment 
thus formed, buried the other parts. But that it was ex- 
ceedingly hot is not doubted; and there is not wanting' 
evidence that only the outer crust has yet reached a toler- 
able degree of coolness, while all the interior surpasses 
the most intense furnace heat. Upheavals and depres- 
sions affecting' large areas, so often met with in the study 
of g'eologw, are supposed to be due to the settling- down of 
the solid crust in one place and the consequent upheaval 
in another. Could a railroad train run thirty minutes, at 
an ordinary speed, toward the center of the earth, it would 
probably reach a temperature to melt iron. And, it may 
be stated parenthetically, could the same train run at the 
same speed for the same time away from the center of the 
earth, it would reach a temperature so cold that the hottest 
day would show a thermometer one hundred degrees 
below zero. So narrow is the sphere of our existence — - 
below us is fire; above us "the measureless cold of space." 
In a well on Bog-g's run, near Wheeling-, the temperature 
at 4,462 feet was one hundred and ten degrees. A descent 
of less than a mile raised the temperature sixty degrees. 
A well five thousand feet deep near Pittsburg had a tem- 
perature of one hundred and twenty degrees. A well in 



GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE. 239 , 

Germany live thousand seven hundred and forty feet deep 
gave a temperature of one hundred and thirty-five degrees. 
The rate of increase in heat is nearly tha^ame in distant 
parts of the world, and gives us strong evideS^e that only 
the outer crust is cool, and that intense heat lies below. 

When we look out upon our quiet valleys, the Kanawha, 
the Potomac, the Monongabela, or contemplate our moun- 
tains, rugged and near, or robed in distant blue, rising and 
rolling-, range beyond range, peak above peak; cliffs over- 
hanging gorges and ravines; meadows, uplands, gdades be- 
yond; with brooks and rivers; the landscape fringed with 
flowers or clothed with forests; we are too apt to pause 
before fancy has had time to call up that strange a.nd won- 
derful panorama of distant ages when the waves of a vast 
sea swept over all; or when only broken and angular rocks 
thrust their shoulders through the foam of the ocean as it 
broke against the nearly submerged ledges where since 
have risen the highest peaks of the Alleghanies and the 
Blue Ridg-e. Here where we now live have been strange 
scenes. Here have been beauty, awfulness and sublimity, 
and also destruction. There was a long ag*e with no win- 
ter. Gigantic ferns and rare palms, enormous in size, and 
••delicate leaves and tendrils, flourished over wide areas and 
vanished. And there was a time when for ages there was 
no summer. Eut we know of this from records elsewhere; 
for its record in West Virginia has been blotted out. 
Landscapes have disappeared. Fertile valleys and undu- 
lating bills, with soil deep and fruitful, have been washed 
away, leaving only a rocky skeleton; and in many places 
even this has been ground to powder and carried away, or 
buried under sands and drift from other regions. 

An outline of some of the changes which have affected 
the little spot in the earth's surface, now occupied by West 
Virginia, will be presented, not by any means complete, 
but sufficient to convey an idea of the ag-encies which enter 
into the workings of geology. It is intended for the young", 



240 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



into whose hands this book will come; not for those whose 
matUrer years and greater opportunities have already 
made them acquainted with this sublime chapter in the 
book of creation. 

When the crust of the earth had cooled sufficiently, rains 
washed down the higher portions, and the sands and sedi- 
ment thus collected were spread over the lower parts. 
This sand, when it had become hardened, formed the first 
layers of rock, called strata. Some of these very ancient 
formations exist yet and have been seen; but whether they 
are the oldest of the layer rocks, no man knows. Some of 
the ancient layers, of great thickness, after being- depos- 
ited at the sea bottoms, were heated from the interior of 
the earth, and were melted. In these cases the stratified 
appearance has usually disappeared, and they are called 
metamorphic rocks. Some geologists regard granite as a 
rock of this kind. 

As the earth cooled more and more, it shrank in size, 
and the surface was shriveled and wrinkled in folds, large 
and small. The larger of these wrinkles were mountains. 
Seas occupied the low places; and the first brooks and 
rivers began to appear, threading their way wherever the 
best channels could be found. Rains, probably frost also,* 
attacked the higher ridges and rocky slopes, almost desti- 
tute of soil, and the washings were carried to the seas, 
forming- other layers of rocks on the bottoms; and thus the 
accumulation went on, varying in rate at times, but never 
changing the general plan of rock building from that day 
to the present. All rock, or very nearly all, in West Vir- 
ginia were formed at the bottom of the ocean, of sand, mud 
and gravel, or of shells, or a mixture of all, the ingredients 
of which were cemented together with silica, iron, lime, or 
other mineral substance held in solution in water. They 
have been raised up from the water, and now form dry 
land, and have been cut and carved into vallej^s, ridges, 
gorges and the various inequalities seen within our state. 

18 



GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE. 241 

These rocks are sometimes visible, forming- cliffs and the 
bottoms and banks of streams and the tops of peaks and 
barren mountains; but for the greater part of West Vir- 
ginia, the underlying rocks are hidden by soil. This soil, 
however, at the deepest, is only a few feet thick, and were 
it all swept off we should have visible all over the state a 
vast and complicat2d system of ledges and bowlders, carved 
and cut to conform to every height and depression now 
marking the surface. The aggregate thickness of these 
layers, as they have been seen and measured in this state, 
is no less than four miles. In other words, sand and shells 
four miles deep (and perhaps more) were in past time 
spread out on the bottom of a sea which then covered West 
Virginia, and after being hardened into rock, were raised 
up and then cut into valleys and other inequalities as we 
see them today. The rockbuilding was not all done dur- 
ing one uninterrupted period, nor was there only one up- 
heaval. West Virginia, or a portion of it, has been several 
times urfder and above the sea. The coast line has swept 
back and forth across it again and again. We read this 
history from the rocks themselves. The skilled geologist 
can determine, from an examination of the fossil shells and 
plants in a stratum, the period of the earth's history when 
the stratum was formed. He can determine the oldest and 
the }^oungest in a series of strata. Yet, not from fossils 
alone may this be determined. The position of the layers 
with regard to one another is often a sure guide in discov- 
ering the oldest and youngest. The sands having been 
spread out in layers, one above the other, it follows that 
those on top are not so old as those below; except in cases, 
unusual in this state, where strata have been folded so 
sharply that they have been broken and turned over. 
Thus the older rocks may lie above the newer. 

Unmeasured as are the ages recorded in the mountains 
and cliffs of West Virginia, yet the most ancient of our 
ledges are young in comparison with those of other parts 



242 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



of the world, or even of neighboring- provinces. North of 
us is a series of rocks, the Lauren tian of Canada, more 
than five miles thick, formed, dike ours, of the slow accumu- 
lation of sand. Yet that series was finished and was prob- 
ably partly worn away before the first grain of sand or the 
first shell, of which we have any record, found a resting- 
place on the bottom of the Cambrian sea which covered 
West Virginia. If the inconceivable lapse of years re- 
quired for accumulating- shell and sand four miles deep in 
the sea bottom, where we now live, amazes us, what must 
we say of that vaster period reaching- back into the cycles 
of the infant world, all of which were past and g-one before 
the foundations of our mountains were laid! Nor have we 
reached the beginning- yet. No man knows whether the 
Laurentian rocks are oldest of the layers; and if they are, 
still back of them stretches that dim and nebulous time, 
unrecorded, uncharted, penetrated only by the light of 
astronomy, when the unstratified rocks were taking- form,, 
from whose disintegrated material all subsequent forma- 
tions have been built. 

Let us begin with the Cambrian age, as geologists call 
it. Within the limits of our state we have little, if any, 
record of anything older. Were a map made of eastern 
United States during that early period it would show a 
mass of land west of us, covering- the middle states, Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois and bej T ond. Another mass of land would 
lie east of us, occupying the Atlantic coastal plain, from 
New England to South Carolina, and extending to an un- 
known distance eastward, where the Atlantic ocean now 
is. Between these two bodies of land spread a narrow arm 
of the sea, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Alabama. 
West Virginia was at the bottom of that sea, whose eastern 
coast line is believed to have occupied nearly the position, 
and to have followed the general direction, of what is now 
the Blue Ridge. Sand washed from this land east of us 
was spread upon the bottom of the sea and now forms the 



GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE. 243 



lowest layers of rocks met with in West Virginia, the 
foundations of our mountains. . But this rock is so deep 
that it is seen only in a few places where it has been 
brought up by folds of the strata, and where rivers have 
cut deep. For the most part of the state these Cambrian 
rocks lie buried, under subsequent formations, thousands 
of feet deep. 

There were mountains of considerable magnitude in that 
land east of the sea. The country west of the sea must 
have been low. During- the immense time, before the next 
great change, the eastern mountains were worn down and 
carried, as sand and mud, into the sea. The Silurian age 
followed, and as it drew near, the region began to sink. 
The sea which had covered the greater part of West Vir- 
ginia, or at least the eastern part of it, began to overflow 
the country both east and west. The waters spread west- 
ward beyond the present Mississippi. The land to the 
eastward had become low and not much sediment was now 
coming from^ that direction. The washings from the 
rounded hills were probably accumulating as a deep soil in 
the low plains and widening valleys. Over a large part of 
West Virginia, during the Silurian age, thick beds of lime- 
stone were formed of shells, mixed with more or less sedi- 
ment. Shell-fish lived and died in the ocean, and when 
dead their skeletons sank to the bottom. It is thus seen 
that the origin of limstone differs from that of sandstone 
in this, that the former is a product of water and the ma- 
terial for the latter is washed into water from land. 

The character of rocks usually tells how far from land 
they were formed, and if sandstone, what kind of country 
furnished the material. The coarsest sandstones were 
deposited near shore, back of which the country was usu- 
ally high and steep. Fine-grained sandstones, or shales, 
were probably laid down along flat shores, above which the 
land had little eleA^ation. Or they may have been deposited 
from fine sediment which drifted a considerable distance 



244 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



from land. If limestone is pure, it is proof that little sedi- 
ment from the land reached if while being- formed. The 
limestone deposited over a considerable part of West Vir- 
ginia during- the closing- of the Cambrian and the begin- 
ning- of the Silurian age forms beds from three thousand 
to four thousand feet thick. During- the vast period re- 
quired for the accumulation of this mass of shells the land 
to the east remained comparatively flat or continued slowly 
to sink. We know this, because there is not much sedi- 
ment mixed with the limestone, and this would not be the 
case had larg-e quantities been poured into the sea from 
the land. 

Another great change was at hand. The land area east 
of us began to rise, and the surface became steep. What 
perhaps had been for a long- time low, rounding- hills, and 
wide, fiat valleys, with a deep accumulation of soil, was 
raised and tilted; and the stronger and more rapid cur- 
rents of the streams, and the rush of the rain water down 
the more abrupt slopes, sluiced off the soil into the sea. 
The beds of limestone were covered two thousand feet 
deep beneath sand and mud, the spoils from a country 
which must have been fertile and productive. The land 
was worn down. Ages on ages passed, and the work of 
grinding went on; the rains fell; the winds blew; the 
floods came; the frost of winter and the heat of summer 
followed each other through years surpassing record. 
Near the close of the Silurian time the shore of the con- 
tinent to the east rose and sank. The vertical movements 
were perhaps small; they may have been just enough to 
submerge the coastal plain, then raise it above water; 
repeating the operation two or more times. The record 
of this is in the alternating coarse and fine sediments and 
sand composing the rocks formed during- that time. At 
the close of the Silurian period the continent east of us 
was worn down again and had become low. The sea cov- 
ering West Virginia had been cut off from the Gulf of St. 



GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE. 24i> 



Lawrence by an upheaval in the state of New York. 
The uplift of the land seems to have been much 
greater during- this time north of us than south. The 
Devonian age followed, which was a great rock-builder in 
the north. The aggregate thickness of the Devonian rocks 
in Pennsylvania is no less than nine thousand feet. From 
there to southward it thins out, like a long, sloping wedge, 
until it disappears in Alabama, after thinning' to twenty- 
five feet in southern Tennessee. In some parts of West 
Virginia the Devonian rocks are seven thousand feet 
thick. The sediments of which these strata were made 
were usually fine-grained forming shales and medium 
sandstones, with some limestones here and there. The 
long - , dreary Devonian age at last drew to a close, and an 
epoch, strange and imperfectly understood, dawned upon 
the earth. It was during this age that the long summer 
prevailed; the winterless climate over the northern hemi- 
sphere; the era of wonderful vegetation; the time of plant 
growth such as was perhaps never on earth before, nor 
will be again. It is known as the Carboniferous age. 

During that period our coal was formed. The rocks 
deposited on the sea bottom in the Carboniferous ag'e 
ranged in thickness from two thousand to eight thousand 
feet in different parts of West Virginia. During- this 
time there is evidence of the breaking up and redistribu- 
tion of a vast gravel bar which had lain somewhere out of 
reach of the waves since earlier ag'es. This bar, or this 
aggregation whether a bar or not, was made up of quartz 
pebbles, varying in size from a grain of sand to a cocoanut, 
all worn and polished as if rolled and fretted on a beach or 
in turbulent mountain streams for centuries. By some 
means the sea obtained possession of them, and they were 
spread out in layers, in some places hundreds of feet 
thick, and were cemented together, forming- coarse, hard 
rocks. We see them along the summits of the Aliegha- 
nies, and the outlying spurs and ridges, from the southern 



246 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



borders of our state, to the Pennsylvania line, and beyond. 
The formation is called conglomerate; and the popular 
names are "bean rock," "millstone grit," etc. A heavy 
stratum of this stone forms the floor of the coal measures. 
The pebbles probably represent the most indestructible 
remnants of mountains, once seamed with quartz veins, 
but degraded and obliterated before the middle of the 
Carboniferous era, perhaps long- before. The quartz, on 
account of its hardness, resisted the grinding' process 
which pulverized the adjacent rocks, and remained as 
pebbles, in bars and beds, until some great change swept 
them into the sea. Their quantity was enormous. The 
rocks composed of them now cover thousands of square 
miles to a considerable thickness. 

As the Carboniferous age advanced the sea which had 
covered the greater part of West Virginia since Cambrian 
time, w T as Hearing- its last days. It had come down from 
the Cambrian to the Silurian, from the Silurian to the De- 
vonian, from the Divonian to the Caboniferous, but it came 
down throug-h the ages no further. From that area w T here 
the waves had rolled for a million years they were about to 
recede. With the passing- of the sea, rose the land, wmich 
has since been crossed by ranges of the Alleghany, Blue 
Ridge, Laurel Ridge, and all their spurs and hills. From 
the middle of the Carboniferous epoch to its close was a 
period of disturbance over the whole area under consider- 
ation. The bottom of the sea was lifted up, became dry 
land, and sank ag-ain. It seemed that a mighty effort was" 
being made by the land to throw back the water which had 
so long held dominion. It was a protracted, powerful 
struggle, in which first the land and then the water gained 
the mastery. Back and forth for hundreds of miles swept 
and receded the sea. Years, centuries, millennials, the 
struggle continued, but finally the land prevailed, w 7 as 
lifted up and the. waves retreated westward and south- 



GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE. 247 

ward to the Gulf of Mexico, and West Virginia was dry 
land, and it has remained such to this day. 

Beds of coal, unlike layers of rock, are made above 
water, or at its immediate surface. While the oscillation 
between sea and land was going- on, during- the Carbonifer- 
ous age, West Virginia's coal fields were being formed. 
Coal is made of wood and plants of various kind, which 
grew with a phenomenal luxuriance during a long period 
of summer that reigned over the northern half of the earth. 
Each bed of coal represents a swamp, large or small, in 
which plants grew, fell and were buried for centuries. The 
whole country in which coal was forming- was probably 
low, and it was occasionally submerged for a few thousand 
years. During the submergence, sand and mud settled 
over it and hardened into rock. Then the land was lifted 
up again, and the material for another bed of coal was ac~ 
cumulated. Every alternation of coal and rock marks an 
elevation and subsidence of the land — the coal formed on 
land, the rock under water. This was the period when 
the sea was advancing and receding across West Virginia,* 
.as the Carboniferous age was drawing to a close. 

Other ages of geology succeeded the Carboniferous; but 
little record of them remains in West Virginia. The land 
here was above the sea; no sediment could be deposited 
to form rocks, and of course there was little on which a per- 
manent record could be written. The strata underlying 
the greater part of our state grew thicker and deeper 
from the Cambrian ag'e to the Carboniferous; then the sea 
receded, and from that time to the present the layers of 
rock have been undergoing* the wear and tear of the ele- 
ments, and the aggregate has been growing thinner. The 
strata have been folded, upraised by subterranean forces 
and cut throug-h by rivers. In some places the Carbon- 
iferous rocks have not yet been worn away; in other places 
the river gorges have reached the bottom of the Devonian 
rocks; in still other localities the great Silurian layers have 



248 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



"been cut through; and in a few places the cutting- has gone 
down deep into the Cambrian rocks. The Glacial age, the 
empire of "steadfast, inconceivable cold," which followed 
the warm period in which coal was formed, did not write its- 
history in West Virginia as indelibly as in some other 
parts of our country. The great morains and bowlders 
so conspicuous in other localities are not found with us. 
No doubt that the cold here was intense; perhaps there 
were glaciers among the high lands; but the evidence has 
been well nigh obliterated. 

Land seems to have been lifted up in two ways, one a 
vertical movement which elevated larg-e areas and formed 
plateaus, but not mountains; the other, a horizontal move- 
ment which caused folds in the strata, and these folds, if 
large enough, are ranges of mountains. In West Virginia, 
we have both acting in the same area. Independently of 
the mountains, West Virginia has a rounding- form, slop- 
ing gradually upward from three directions. Iniagine the 
mountain ranges sheared off until no irregular elevations 
exist in the state. The resulting figure would show West 
Virginia's surface as it would be presented to us if no 
strata had been folded to make mountain ranges. This is 
the shape given by the vertical upheaval since the Carbon- 
iferous age, uninfluenced by the horizontal thrust of strata. 
The fig-ure would -show a great swell in the surface, the 
highest portion at the interlocking* sources of the Green- 
brier, the Elk, the Potomac, the east fork of the Mononga- 
hela, and Cheat. From that highest point the surface 
slopes in every direction, as shown by the course of the 
rivers. There is a long, curved arm of the plateau thrust 
out toward the southwest, reaching- around through Poca- 
hontas, Greenbrier, Monroe and McDowell counties, and 
overlapping into the state of Virginia. The New river, 
from the highlands of North Carolina, cuts through this 
plateau to join the Kanawha on -the western side. The 
highest part of this rounded area is perhaps three thousand. 



GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE. 249 



feet above sea level, not counting - the mountains which 
stand upon the plateau; for, in order to make the matter 
plain, we have supposed all the mountains sheared off level 
with the surface of the plateau. « 

Having now rendered it clear that portions of West Vir- 
ginia would be high if there were not a mountain in the 
state, let us proceed to consider how the mountains were 
formed and why nearly all the highest summits are clust- 
ered in three or four counties. W e have already observed 
that ranges of mountains such as ours are formed by the 
folding- of layers of rocks. This is apparent to any one 
who has seen one of our mountains cut through from top 
to bottom, such as the New Creek mountain at Greenland 
Gap. Place several layers of thick cloth on a table, push 
the ends toward each other. The middle of the cloth will 
rise in folds. In like manner were our mountains formed.. 
The layers of rock were pushed horizontally, one force act- 
ing- from the southeast, the other from the northwest. 
Rivers and rains have carved and cut them, changing their 
original features somewhat; but their chief characteristics 
remain. The first upheaval, which was vertical, raised 
the West Virginia plateau, as we believe; the next up- 
heaval, which was caused by horizontal thrust, folded the 
layers of rocks which formed the plateau and made moun- 
tain ranges. From this view it is not difficult to account 
for so many high peaks in one small area. The mountain 
ranges cross the plateau, running up one slope, across the 
summit, and down the opposite slope. These ranges are 
from one thousand to nearly two thousand feet high, meas- 
uring from the general level of the country on which they 
stand. But that general level is itself, in the highest part, 
'about three thousand feet above the sea. So a mountain, 
in itself one thousand feet in elevation, may stand upon a 
plateau three times that high, and thus its summit will be 
four thousand feet above the sea. The highest peaks in 
the state are where the rang-es of mountains cross the 



250 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



highest part of the plateau. There are many other moun- 
tains in the state which, when measured from base to sum- 
mit, are as high as those just mentioned, but they do not 
have the advantage of resting- their bases on ground so ele- 
vated, consequently their summits are not so far above sea 
level. To express it briefly, by a homely comparison, a 
five-foot man on three-foot stilts is higher than a six-foot 
man on the ground; a one thousand-foot mountain on a 
a three thousand-foot plateau is higher than a two thous- 
and-foot mountain near the sea level. 

Exact measurements showing- the elevation of West Vir- 
ginia in various parts of its area, when studied in connec- 
tion with a map of the state, show clearly that the area 
rises in altitude from all sides, culminating in the nest of 
peaks clustered around the sources of the Potomac, the 
Kanawha and Monong-ahela. The hig-hest point in the 
state is Spruce mountain, in Pendleton county, 4,860 feet 
above sea level; the lowest point is the bed of the Potomac 
at Harper's Ferry, 260 feet above the sea; the vertical 
rang-e is 4,600 feet. The Ohio, at the mouth of Big- Sandy, 
on the boundary between W est Virginia and Kentucky is 
500 feet; the mouth of Cheat, at the Pennsylvania line is 
775. A line drawn through the principal points in the 
state at an elevation of 1,000 feet, would not run round the 
state, but beginning in the southwest would follow a 
waving and zig-zag- course along the western side, across 
part of the northern side, and after being cut off by the 
high region of western Maryland, would reappear in the 
state. If we begin at the mouth of Crane creek, on Dry 
fork of Big Sandy, the one thousand foot level passes 
through the mouth of Dry branch on Tug fork, in McDowell 
county; it sweeps up the Kanawha valley to Sewell, in 
Fayette county, passes through Wood's ferry on the 
Gauley, and passes up the Elk to the line between Webster 
and Braxton counties. The line ascends the Little 
Kanawha to the mouth of Glady creek, in Lewis county. It 



GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE. 251 



sweeps up the Monongahela and Tygart's valley rivers 
six miles above Grafton, in Taylor county, and up the West 
fork to Weston. It ascends Cheat river to the mouth of 
Sandy, in Preston county. It crosses the North branch 
of the Potomac at Blooming-ton, in Mineral county, and 
ascends the South branch to the mouth of the North fork, 
in Grant county. The line is almost level with the tops 
of the mountains in Jefferson and Berkeley counties. 

The fifteen hundred foot contour line, beginning- at the 
mouth of Cucumber creek, in McDowell county, follows 
the upper valleys and ridges around to the New river 
beyond the Virginia line. Thus the fifteen hundred foot 
contour cuts our state in two along- the valley of the New 
river. The line returning- along- the face of the mountains 
north of New river, strikes the Greenbrier at Lowell sta- 
tion, and the Gauley at Hughes' ferry, the Elk at Addison, 
and the Little Kanawha at the boundary between Upshur 
and Webster counties. The line goes up the Buckhannon 
river to the mouth of Grassy run; up Cheat to St. Georg-e, 
in Tucker county. East of there the line leaves the state 
and enters Maryland; reappearing- on the North branch 
below Elk Garden, and ascending- the South branch to 
Deer run, in Pendleton county. The two thousand foot 
line crosses the south fork of Tug- river near the Virginia 
line, in McDowell county; passes through Mercer county, 
crossing the Bluestone river at the mouth of Wolf creek. 
It crosses the Greenbrier at the line between Pocahontas 
and Greenbrier counties. It ascends Dry fork of Cheat to 
near the mouth of Red creek, in Tucker county, and 
crosses the North branch of the Potomac at Schell in 
Grant county. The higher contour lines enclose, narrower 
areas until when four thousand feet is reached, only peaks 
project above. The general level of Pocahontas county is 
about three thousand feet above the sea. The bed of 
Greenbrier river where it enters Pocahontas is three 
thousand three hundred feet in elevation. Where Shaver's 



252 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



fork of Cheat river leaves Pocahontas, its bed is three 
thousand seven hundred feet. A few of the highest peaks 
in Pocahontas, Pendleton, Randolph and Tucker counties 
are: Spruce knob, Pendleton county, four thousand eight 
hundred and sixty feet above sea level; Bald knob, Poca- 
hontas county, four thousand eight hundred; Spruce knob, 
Pocahontas county, four thousand seven hundred and 
thirty; High knob, Randolph county, four thousand seven- 
hundred and ten; Mace knob, Pocahontas county, four 
thousand seven hundred; Barton knob, Randolph county, 
four thousand six hundred; Bear mountain, Pocahontas 
county, four thousand six hundred; Eileber ridge, Poca- 
hontas county, four thousand six hundred; Watering Pond 
knob, Pocahontas county, four thousand six hundred; 
Panther knob, Pendleton county, four thousand five hun- 
dred; Weiss knob, Tucker count} 7 , four thousand four 
hundred and ninety-; Green knob, Randolph county, four 
thousand four hundred and eighty-five; Brier Patch moun- 
tain, Randolph county, four thousand four hundred and 
eighty; Yok urn's knob, Randolph county, -four thousand 
three hundred and thirty; Pointy knob, Tucker county, 
four thousand two hundred eighty six; Hutton's knob, Ran- 
dolph county, four thousand two hundred and sixty. 

We do not know whether the vertical upheaval which 
raised the plateau, or the horizontal compression which 
elevated the mountains, has yet ceased. We know that 
the work of destruction is not resting-. Whether the up- 
lift is still acting with sufficient force to make our moun- 
tains higher; or whether the elements are chiseling down 
rocks, and lowering our whole surface, we cannot say. 
But this we can say, if the teachings of g-eology may be 
taken as warrant for the statement: every mountain, every 
hill, every cliff, rock, upland, even the valleys, and the 
whole vast underlying- skeleton of rocks, must ultimately 
pass away and disappear beneath the sea. Rain and frost, 
wind and the unseen chemical forces, will at least complete 



GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE, 253 



the work of destruction. Every rock will be worn to sand, 
and the sand will go out with the currents of oar rivers, 
until the rivers no longer have currents, and the sea will 
flow in to cover the desolation. The sea once covered a 
level world; the world will again be level, and again will 
the sea cover it. 

There is greater diversity of climate in West Virginia 
than in almost an other area of the United States of equal 
size. The climate east of the Alleghanies is different from 
that west of the range; while that in the high plateau 
region is different from either. The state's topography 
is responsible for this, as might be expected from a ver- 
tical range of more than four thousand feet, with a portion 
of the land set to catch the west wind, and a portion to 
the east, and still other parts to catch every wind that 
blows. Generally speaking - , the country east of the 
Alleghanies has the warmer and dryer climate. In the 
mountain regions the summers are never verv hot, and the 
winters are always very cold. The thermometer some- 
times falls thirty degrees below zero near the summit of 
the Alleghanies; while the highest summer temperature 
is seldom above ninety degrees, but the record shows 
ninet3^-six. The depth of snow varies with the locality 
and the altitude. Records of snow six and seven feet 
deep near the summits of the highest mountains have been 
made. At an elevation of 'fifteen hundred feet above the 
sea, there was snow forty-two inches deep in 1856, along 
the mountains and valleys west of the Alleghanies. In 
1831, at an elevation of less than one thousand feet, snow 
accumulated three feet deep between the mountains and 
the Ohio river. Tradition tells of a snow in the north- 
western part of the state in 1780 which was still deeper; 
but exact measurements were not recorded. The sum- 
mer of 1854 was almost rainless west of the mountains. In 
the same region in 1834 snow fell four inches deep on the 
fifteenth of May; and on June 5, 1859, a frost killed almost 



254 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



every green thing- in the central and northern part of the 
state. 

The average annual rainfall for the state of W est Vir- 
ginia, including- melted snow, is about forty-seven inches. 
The precipitation is greater west of the Alleghanies than 
east, and greatest near the summit of these mountains, on 
the western side. Our rains and snows come from two 
general directions, from the west-southwest, and from the 
east. Local storms may come from any direction. East- 
ern storms are usually confined to the region east of the 
Alleghanies. The clouds which bring rains from that 
quarter come from the Atlantic ocean. The hig-h country 
following the summits of the Appalachian range from Can- 
ada almost to the Gulf of Mexico is the dividing line be- 
tween the two systems of rains and winds which visit West 
Virginia. Storms from the Atlantic move up the gentle 
slope from the coast to the base of the mountains, precipi- 
tating their moisture in the form of rain or snow as they 
come. They strike the abrupt eastern face of the Allegha- 
nies, expending their force and giving out the remainder of 
their moisture there, seldom crossing to the west side. 
The Blue Ridge is not high enough to interfere seriously 
with the passage of clouds across their summits; but the 
Alleghanies are usually a barrier, especially for eastern 
storms. As the clouds break against their sides there are 
sometimes terrific rains below, while very little, and per- 
haps none falls on the summit. On such an occasion, an 
observer on one of the Alleghany peaks can look down 
upon the storm and can witness the play of lightning and 
hear the thunder beneath him. Winds which cross high 
mountains seldom deposit much rain or snow on the lee- 
ward side. 

Whence, then does the western part of our state 
receive its rains? Not from the Atlantic, because the 
winds which bring- rain for the country west of the Alle- 
ghanies, blow towards that ocean, not from it. No matter 



GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE. 255 



in what part of the world rain or snow falls, it was derived 
from vapor taken up by the sun from some sea or ocean. 

» 

An insignificant portion of the world's rainfall is taken up 
as vapor from land. From what sea, then, do the winds 
blow which bring- the rain that falls against the western 
slopes of the mountains, and waters the country to the 
Ohio river and beyond? 

Take the back track of the winds and follow them to 
their starting" point, and that will settle the question. 
They come from a direction a little west of southwest. 
That course will lead to the Pacific ocean west of Mexico. 
Go on in the same direction two thousand or three thous- 
and miles, and reach the equator. Then turn at right an- 
gles and go southeast some thousand miles further and 
reach that wide domain of the Pacific wmich stretches 
from South America to Australia. There, most probably, 
would be found the starting point of the winds which bring 
us rain. The evidence to substantiate this statement is 
too elaborate and complex to be g'iven here; suffice it that 
the great wind systems of the world, with their circuits, 
currents and counter-currents, have been traced and 
charted until they are almost as well known as are the 
rivers of the world. Not only is the great distance from 
which our rains come am astonishing theme for contempla- 
tion, but the immense quantity transported is more amaz- 
ing — a sheet of water nearly four feet thick and covering 
an area of twenty thousand square miles, lifted by the 
sun's rays every year from the South Pacific, carried 
through the air ten thousand miles and sprinkled with a 
bountiful profusion upon our mountains, hills, vales, 
meadows and gardens to make them pleasing and fruitful. 



CHAPTER XXL 



«o» 

WEST VIRGINIA'S FOREST TREES 

There are four hundred and twelve species of forest 
trees in North America, exclusive of Mexico. Of these 
one hundred and three species are found in W est Virginia. 
The Atlantic coast has two hundred and ninety-two spe- 
cies; the Pacific coast fewer than one hundred. There are 
not more than thirty species between the Alleghanies and 
the Rocky mountains which are not also found on one coast 
or the other. West Virginia, with less than twenty-five 
thousand square miles, contains in its forests one-fourth 
of all the species of trees, north of Mexico, in the whole 
American continent, and its number exceeds those of the 
Pacific coast from the Gulf of California to the shores of 
the Arctic ocean, embracing- above one million square miles, 
ranging- in temperature from the torrid to the frigid zones. 
It is usually the case that a certain tree is found over a 
wide country, but there is always some restricted territory 
in which it reaches its greatest development. The differ- 
ence in size and appearance between this tree at its best 
and at its worst is often so great that a person acquainted 
with it at one extreme would scarcely recognize it at the 
other. A number of the forest trees found in West Vir- 
ginia reach their greatest development in this state. Few 
territories of the world, so limited in area, can show the 
fullest development of as many species. The difference 
between trees and shrubs, as usually insisted on by botan- 
ists, is this: a tree has one straight, woody stem, which 
branches above the ground. A shrub does not have that 
characteristic. Trees and shrubs are not always dis- 

19 



WEST VIRGINIA'S FOREST TREES. 



257 



tinguished by their size. Some trees are smaller than some 
shrubs; as, in Greenland, the former may not be six inches 
high, and in Florida the latter may be thirty feet. There 
is no well understood reason why a certain species among 
trees flourishes in one territory and is absent from an ad- 
joining- area of similar climate and soil. There is no doubt 
that trees and plants, as species, migrate the same as ani- 
mals, but of course much more slowly and in a different 
way. They spread from one area to another. Yet, from 
some unknown cause, there are lines which it seems a cer- 
tain species cannot pass. To this is largely due the group- 
ing" of one kind of trees in one part of an area and another 
kind in another part. In West Virginia may be found a 
belt of white pine extending- across three or four counties. 
Parts of the adjoining counties have no white pine. The 
persimmon nourishes in one county, in one valley, in one 
range of hills, and is not found on similar hills or in similar 
valleys not far away. The black haw is also select, and 
seemingly unreasonable as to its habitat. The same ob- 
servation might be truthfully made of other trees. Some- 
times a certain soil is unfriendly to a certain species of 
plant, while other plants grow upon it. There is a kind of 
laurel in W est Virginia which will no more grow on a lime- 
stone soil than in a gorge of ice. 

In this brief chapter little more will be attempted than 
to present a catalogue of the species of forest trees found 
in West Virginia. Care has been taken to make the list 
complete. Some of the species are found only in one or 
two localities in the state, while others cover the whole 
area. Perhaps the chief cause for West Virginia's divers- 
ity of forest trees is the peculiar topography of. the state, 
by which its climate and soil are affected. It has -a greater 
average elevation than any other state east of the Missis- 
sippi, yet it possesses much low country, the lowest being 
the district along the Potomac, at and above Harper's 
Ferry. It has climate and soil peculiar to lofty peaks; to 



258 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



ranges of mountains less elevated; to upland ridges; to 
narrow valleys and coves; to low hills and wide, fertile val- 
leys. The rainfall on the western slopes of the Alleghany 
range is very heavy. It is somewhat less westward of that 
range, and is still less east of it. Thus the climate and 
soil vary exceedinglv within an area of less than twenty- 
five thousand square miles. The trees suited to each soil 
and climate have taken possession of such localities as they 
like best. In the catalogue which follows, the popular name 
of the species is first given and the botanical name 
follows for the benefit of those who care to examine 
the subject more particularly. 

Cucumber, or mountain magnolia, magnolia acuminata. 
It grows best along the Alleghanies. 

Elkwood, or umbrella tree, magnolia umbrella. On 
western slope of the southern Alleghanies its highest de- 
velopment is reached. 

Yellow Poplar, liriodendron tulipifera, sometimes at- 
tains a height of one hundred and eighty feet. The bot- 
anist Ridgway describes trunks ten feet in diameter. It 
is estimated that four billions of feet of yellow poplar stand 
in the forests of West Virginia, more than half on Cheat 
river and its tributaries. 

Pawpaw, or custard apple, asimina triloba, grows best 
east of the Alleghanies. 

Lin, tilia Americana, called also lime tree, basswood 
and bee tree. Its bloom is rich in honey. 

Wahoo, or white bass wood, tilia heterophylla. It is 
somtimes confounded with lin, which it resembles. 

Prickly Ash, or toothache tree xanthoxylum Ameri- 
canum. 

Wafer Ash, or hoptree, sometimes called shrubby tre- 
foil, ptelia trifoliata. 

American Holly, ilex opaca. This is an evergreen, 
popular for Christmas decorations. It is not found in all 
parts of West Virgina. 



WEST VIRGINIA'S FOREST TREES. 259 



Indian Cherry, rhamnus Caroliniana. The wood is of 
little value, but the fruit is pleasant to the taste. 

Fetid Buckeye, or Ohio buckeye, aesculus glabra* 
This is the best wood in the world for artificial limbs. 

Sweet Buckeye, aesculus flava. This and fetid buck- 
eye are of the same genus, but this has fragrant blossoms. 
The nuts, w T hen eaten by cattle, are injurious. 

Striped Maple, acer Pennsylvanicum. It has other 
names, moosewood, striped dogwood, goosefoot maple, 
whistlewood. It is seldom more than seven inches in diam- 
eter. There are six species and one variety of maple found 
in the forests of West Virginia. 

Mountain Maple, acer spicatum, grows from Georgia 
almost to the Arctic ocean. 

Sugar Tree, or sugar maple, hard maple, rock maple, 
acer saccharinum. Bird's eye maple and curled maple 
are accidental forms. Black sugar maple, acer nigrum, is 
a variety of the sugar tree. 

Soft Maple, acer dasycarpum; also called white maple 
and silver maple. It is seldom met with east of the Alle- 
ghanies in West Virginia. 

Red Maple, acer rubrum, or swamp maple. The bark 
is sometimes used with sulphate of iron in making ink. 

Ash-Leaved Maple, or box elder, negundo aceroides, is 
one of the most widely distributed trees of the American 
forests. 

Staghorn Sumach, rhus typhena. 

Dwarf Sumach, rhus capallina. The leaves and bark are 
largely used in tanning. 

Poison Sumach, or poison elder, rhus venenata. The 
poison of this tree is due to a volatile principle called toxi- 
codendric acid. 

Locust, or black locust, robinia pseudoacacia. The 
wood is durable in contact with the ground. Of late years 
great ravage has been committed on this tree by the locust- 
borer. 



260 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Coffee Nut, giymnocladus Canadensis. The seeds 
are used as coffee, and the leaves as poison for house flies. 

Honey Locust, gieditschia triacanthos, also known as 
sweet locust, honey shucks and three-t horned acacia. 
There are two or more varieties, one nearly destitute of 
thorns. 

Redbud, or Judas tree, cercis Canadensis. 

Wild Plum, or Canada plum, primus Americana, has 
been cultivated for the fruit until it is almost a domestic 
tree. 

CmcASAw Plum, or hog- plum, prunus angustifolia, is 
not believed to be a native of West Virginia, but was im- 
ported from the west, and now grows wild west of the 
Alleghanies. 

Wild Red Cherry, or pigeon cherry, prunus Pennsyl- 
vania. It flourishes best near the summit of the Alle- 
ghanies. It is sometimes called choke cherry. 

Wild Black Cherry, prunus serotina. This valuable 
tree reaches its greatest development in West Virginia. 

Sweet Scented Crab, pyrus coronaria, so called on ac- 
count of its blossoms. 

American Crabapple, pyrus angustifolia. 

Mountain Ash, pyrus Americana, grows only on high 
mountains in West Virginia. It extends to Greenland. 

Cockspur Thorn, or Newcastle thorn, Crataegus crus- 
galli. The long, sharp thorns are occasionally used as 
pins for fastening woolsacks. 

Red Haw, or white thorn, scarlet haw Crataegus coc- 
cinea, is the heaviest wood in West Virginia. The name 
scarlet haw is misleading, as the true scarlet haw is not 
found in this state. 

Black Thorn, or pear haw, Crataegus tomentosa. There 
are several varieties; that which bears the largest fruit 
mispilus pometata, dull red or yellow, reaches its highest 
development in West Virginia. The tree has a wide 
geographical range. 



WEST VIRGINIA'S FOREST TREES. 261 



Washington Thorn, Crataegus cordata, is found chiefly 
near the Alleghanies. 

Service Tree, amelanchier Canadensis, called also 
June berry, shad bush, May cherry, grows from Labrador 
to Florida, but reaches its greatest development on the 
Alleghany mountains. A variety found on the summit of 
that range has a tree only a few feet high with fruit sweet 
and pleasant. 

Witch Hazel, hamamelis Virginica, reaches its highest 
development among the Alleghanies. 

Sweet Gum, or red gum, starleaved blisted, liquidamber, 
liquidamber styraciflua, is exceedingly tough as a wood. 

Dogwood, cornus alternifolia. 

Flowering Dogwood, or boxwood, cornus Florida. 

Sour Gum, or black gum, pepperidge, tupelo, nyssa syl- 
vatica. This is the most unwedgeable wood in West Vir- 
ginia. There are many varieties with differences so 
slight that botanists cannot agree on names for them. 
Marshall groups them as "forest gums," and Wangenheim 
as "many-flowered gums." 

Sheepberrv, or nanny berry, viburnum prunifolium f 
emits a disagreeable odor. 

Black Haw, or stagbush, viburnum prunifolium. 

Sorrel Tree, or sourwood, oxydendrum arboreum. 

Calico Bush, or small laurel, ivy, spoonwood, kalmia lat- 
ifolia, is poisonous to sheep and cattle. 

Great Laurel, or rose bay, rhododendron maximum, 
when in bloom is one of the most gorgeous trees in the 
world. It never grows over limestone. 

Persimmon, diospyros Virginiana. 

Snowdrop Tree, halesia tetrapetra, has its northern 
limit in West Virginia. It is seldom seen growing- wild in 
this state, but is common in cultivation. 

White Ash, fraxinus Americana, has large commercial 
value as lumber. 



262 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Red Ash, fraxinus pubesceus, is sometimes mistaken 
for white ash, but it is a smaller tree. 

Green Ash, fraxinus viridis. The wood is inferior to 
white ash, but resembles it in appearance. 

Black Ash, or hoop ash, ground ash, fraxinus sambu- 
cifolia, is one of the most northern of the species in Amer- 
ica, reaching- Newfoundland. 

Sassafras, sassafras omcinate. Although this well- 
known wood is plentiful in West Virginia, it does not 
reach its greatest development in this state, but in Arkan- 
sas, where it attains a heig'ht of one hundred feet and a 
diameter of seven feet. 

Slippery Elm, or red elm, moose elm, ulinus f ulva, is val- 
uable for its mucilaginous and nutritious inner bark, used 
for medicinal purposes. 

White Elm, or water elm, ulmus Americana. 

Rock Elm, ulmus racemosa; also known as cork elm, 
hickory elm, white elm, cliff elm. The wood is largely 
used for bicycle rims. 

Sugarberry, or hockberry, celtis occidentalis. 

Red Mulberry, morus rubra. 

Sycamore, or buttonwood, platanus occidentalis. This 
Is the largest tree of the Atlantic states, sometimes attain- 
ing a height of one hundred and thirty feet and a trunk 
diameter of fourteen feet. The largest specimens are 
usually hollow. 

White Walnut, or butternut, juglans cinerea. 

Black Walnut, juglans nigra. This valuable wood 
reaches its greatest development in West Virginia, west 
of the Alleghanies. It is a splendid forest tree, sometimes 
attaining a height of one hundred and forty-five feet. It 
doee not form extensive forests in this state, but the trees 
are scattered. 

Shellbark Hickory, carya alba, is of the first economic 
value. 



WEST VIRGINIA'S FOREST TREES. 



263 



Black Hickory, carya tomentosa, is also called king- 
nut, mocker nut, big- bud hickory, and white heart hickory. 

Brown Hickory, carya porcina, is sometimes con- 
founded with black hickory. It is also called pig- nut and 
switch bud hickory. It is a little heavier than black 
hickory. 

Bitter Hickory, or swamp-hickory, carya amara. 

White Oak, quercus alba, reaches its greatest devel- 
opment in West Virginia, along the western slopes of the 
Alleghanies. There are thirty-seven species of oak in the 
United States, of which fourteen are found in West Vir- 
ginia. There are at least sixty-one varieties, and a full 
share of them belongs to this state. 

Post Oak, or iron oak, quercus obtusiloba. 

Swamp White Oak, quercus bicolor. A tree of this 
species at Genesee, New York, the largest, perhaps in the 
world, reached a diameter of ten feet. 

Cow Oak, or basket oak, quercus michauxii. 

Chestnut Oak, quercus prinus. 

Chinquapin Oak, quercus prinoides. The wood of this 
tree is the heaviest of all the oak familv in this state. The 
chinquapin has a remarkable ability of adapting itself to 
all sorts of environments, and it chang-es it shape, size and 
other characteristics to conform to its surrounding's. 
East of the Alleghanies it is usually a shrub. 

Red Oak, quercus rubra. There are six well-defined 
varieties of red oak; not all, however, in West Virginia. 

Scarlet Oak, quercus coccinea. • ; 

Quercitron Oak, quercus tinctoria. The bark of this 
i;ree is much used in tanning. 

Black Oak, quercus nigra. 

Spanish Oak, quercus falcata. 

Pin Oak, or water oak, quercus palustris, reaches its. 
greatest development west of the Alleghanies. 
Possum Oak, quercus aquatica. 
Eaurel Oak, quercus imbricara. 



264 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Chestnut, castanea vulgaris, variety, Americana. It 
reaches its greatest development among- the southern 
Alleghanies; specimens as much as thirteen feet in diam- 
eter having- been measured. 

Beech, fag-us ferruginea. 

Ironwood, or hop horn beam, ostrya Virg-inica. 

Blue Beech, or water beech, carpinus Caroliniana. 

Yellow Birch, or gray birch, betula lutea, is often 
mistaken for white birch, betula alba, variety, populi- 
folia, which is not found in West Virginia. The wood is 
larg-ely used in the manufacture of pill boxes. 

Red Birch, or river birch, betula nigra. 

Black Birch, betula lenta. The fermented sap of this 
tree is used in making- birch beer. 

Black Alder, aim us serrulata, has at least eight varie- 
ties. It is often little more than a thick-branching- shrub. 

Black Willow, silex nigra, has several varieties, some 
of which are divided into sub-varieties. The willow family 
offers many puzzles for botanists. 

Sandbar Willow, silex longifolia, is found along the 
Potomac river. 

Aspen, or quaking asp, populus tremuloides, is the most 
widely distributed North American tree, growing from 
the Arctic ocean to the Rio Grande, and from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific. 

Poplar, populus graiididentata, is seldom more than 
seventy-five feet high, or two in diameter. 

White Cedar, or arbor vitae, thuya occidentalis, the 
lightest wood in West Virginia, is found among the Alle- 
ghanies, on the rocky banks of streams. 

Red Cedar, or savin, juniperus Virginiana, is the most 
widely distributed of the cone-bearing trees of North 
America. Its wood is preferred to all others for lead 
pencils. 

White Pine, pinus strobus, reaches in this state its 
southern limit as an important source of lumber supply- 



WEST VIRGINIA'S FOREST TREES. 



265 



There is an area of about two hundred square miles, con- 
taining* six hundred million feet, of marketable white pine 
in West Virginia. • 

Pitch Pine, pinus rigida. 

Hickory Pine, pinus p unpens. 

Yellow Pine, pinus mitis, is sometimes called spruce 
or short-leaved pine. The wood is much heavier than 
that of pitch pine and nearly twice the weight of white 
pine. 

Black Spruce, picea nigra, has at least three varieties. 
It is found near the summit of the Alleg-hanies. 

Hemlock, tsuga Canadensis, is found in many localities 
among- the Alleg-hanies. It grows best on steep hillsides 
facing- the north, and in deep and cold ravines. 

Balsam Fir, or balm of Gilead fir, abies balsamae, is not 
abundant anywhere in this state, but is occasionally found 
near the summit of the Alleg-hanies. 

The weig-hts of the vvoods of West Virginia differ 
greatly, ranging from red haw, the heaviest, to white cedar, 
the lightest. To ascertain the comparative weig-hts of 
woods, the specimens are carefully cut and measured, and 
are made exactly of the same size. They are then dried 
at a temperature nearly equal to that of boiling water, and 
are kept in that heat until they cease to grow lighter. 
They are then weighed, and a record kept of each. Below 
will be found the weights in pounds of a cubic foot of each 
species of wood in this state. Fractions are omitted, and 
only the even pounds are given. A cubic foot of water 
weighs about sixty-two and a half pounds. There is no 
wood in this state that heavy; consequently they all float 
in water. The weights, from the heaviest to the lightest, 
are as follows: 

Red haw, a little more than fifty-four pounds to the 
cubic foot; chinquapin, fifty-four; ironwood, fifty-two;, 
post oak, fifty-two; shellbark hickory, fifty-two; black haw, 
fifty-two; flowering dogwood, fifty-One; black hickory, 



266 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



fifty-one;, brown hickory, fifty-one; cow. oak, fifty; service, 
forty-nine; persimmon, forty-nirie; swamp white oak, forty- 
eight; black thorn, forty-eight; blue ash, forty-seven; bit- 
ter hickory, forty-seven; chestnut oak, forty-seven; laurel 
oak, forty-seven; black birch, forty-seven; jack oak, forty- 
six; scarlet oak, forty-six; white oak, forty-six; sorrel 
tree, forty-six; sheepberry, forty-six; locust, forty-six; 
wild plum, forty-five; cockspur thorn, forty-five; Wash- 
ing-ton thorn, forty-five; small laurel, forty-five; rock elm, 
forty-five; sugar berry, forty-five; possum oak, forty-five; 
blue beech, forty-five; yellow oak, forty-four; green ash, 
forty-four; witch hazel, forty-four; sweet scented crab, 
forty-four; sugar tree, forty-three; black sugar maple, 
forty-three; coffee nut, forty-three; chickasaw plum, for- 
ty-three; crabapple, forty-three; slippery elm, forty-three; 
Spanish oak, forty-three; pin oak, forty-three; beech, 
forty-three; dogwood, forty-two; honey locust, forty-two; 
white ash, forty one; water elm, forty-one; red oak, forty- 
ome; yellow birch, forty-one; sour gum, forty; red bud, 
forty; big laurel, thirty-nine; red ash, thirty-nine; yellow 
pine, thirty-eight; black walnut, thirty-eight; red maple, 
thirty-eight; sweet gum, thirty-seven; red mulberry, 
thirty-seven; red birch, thirty-six; wild black cherry, 
thirty-six; holly, thirty-six; prickley ash, thirty-five; snow- 
drop, thirty-five; sycamore, thirty-five; mountain ash, 
thirty-four; Indian cherry, thirty-four; striped maple, 
thirty-three; mountain maple, thirty-three; soft maple, 
thirty-three; dwarf sumach, thirty-three; pitch pine, 
thirty-two; wild red cherry, thirty-one; sassafras^ thirty- 
one; sandbar willow, thirty-one; red cedar, thirty-one; 
hickory pine, thirty-one; cucumber, twenty-nine; black 
alder, twenty nine; poplar, twenty-nine; black spruce^ 
twenty-nine; black willow, twenty-eight; chestnut, twenty- 
eight; fetid buckeye, twenty-eight; lin, twenty-eight; elk- 
wood, twenty-eight; white bass wood, twenty-seven; sweet 
buckeye, twenty-seven; hemlock, twenty-seven; poison 



WEST VIRGINIA'S FOREST TREES. 267 



sumach, twenty-seven; box elder, twentv-seven; wafer 
ash, twenty-six; yellow poplar, twenty-six; pawpaw, 
twenty-five; butternut, twenty-five; quaking- asp, twenty- 
five; balm of gilead, twenty-four; white pine, twenty-four; 
white cedar, twenty. 

Estimates have been made of the amount of cordwood in 
the forests of West Virginia, placing* the total at six hun- 
dred 'and fifty millions of cords. The counties of this 
state having the smallest proportion of forest are Harri- 
son and Jefferson; next are Monroe, Mason, Jackson and 
Roane; third, Preston, Monongalia, Marion, Taylor, Bar- 
bour, Upshur, Lewis, Doddridge, Tyler, Ritchie, Wood, 
Ohio, Hancock and Brooke, The fourth group of coun- 
ties, the densest forest and proportionately largest area, 
embraces the remainder of the state. In the first group, 
the cordwood is estimated at five to ten cords per acre; in 
the second, ten to twenty cords; in the third, twenty to 
fifty, and in the fourth, over fifty cords. The fourth 
.group includes more than half the state; so, it is not prob- 
ably out of the way to estimate the quantity of cordwood 
for the whole state at forty cords per acre. 

When woods are seasoned, their capacity for giving- out 
heat in combustion is proportioned to their weights, pro- 
vided that the two classes, resinous and non-resinous, are 
compared, each with specimens of its own class. Weight 
for weight, resinous woods develop about twelve per cent 
more heat than non-resinous; but, under ordinary circum- 
stances, resinous woods are not wholly consumed. The 
smoke carries away much that might be converted into 
heat, in a proper furnace. For this reason resinous woods 
are often considered inferior to non-resinous of equal 
weights in the production of heat. The fault is in the 
furnace, not in the wood. 

A cubic foot of yellow poplar, which weighs twenty-six 
pounds will develop, in combustion, one-half as much heat 
as a cubic foot of black hickory, which weighs fifty-two 



268 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



pounds. A cubic foot of green wood develops, when 
burned, as much heat as the same quantity when dry; but 
the apparent results are not the same, because a portion of 
the heat from the green, wood is required to evaporate the 
water in the wood. The amount is usually about fifteen 
per cent. The quantity of heat given out when wood is 
burned is no more and no less than the quantity absorbed 
(if the unscientific expression may be used) from the sun- 
light Wtiile the tree was growing. Heat given out from 
burning wood was obtained from the sun; it follows, then, 
theoretically, and experiments have proved it, that the 
process of drying adds nothing to the wood, and that the 
green stick can develop, in combustion, as much heat as 
the dry. 



\ 



PART II, 

County History. 



CHAPTER XXII, 



«o» 

COURTS AND OFFICERS, 

BY H. L. SWISHER. 

But little more than a decade had passed after the settle- 
ment of Jamestown before the necessity for a tribunal of 
justice was felt and provided for. The numerous courts 
of today had their origin in justice courts, or as they are 
more popularly called, county courts. These were estab- 
lished in Virginia in 1623-4. In 1652 their members were 
elected by the house of burg-esses. It was not until 1776 that 
the appointing- of these justices became a part of the power 
of the g-overuor of the state. This power he exercised 
until 1852. From 1852 to 1863 the county court was com- 
posed of four justices from each magisterial district into 
which the county was divided. The power of appointing- 
was taken from the g-overnorand the justices were elected 
by direct vote of the people. A board of supervisors, with 
one member from each township of the county, took the 
place of the county court from 1863 to 1872. The consti- 
tution of 1872 revived the old county court and it continued 
until 1880. In 1880 the amendment of the eig-hth article of 
the constitution destroyed the county court and established 
in its stead a board of commissioners, still commonly 
known as the county court. This board is composed of 
three members elected by the people of the county and has 
jurisdiction over the police and fiscal affairs within the coun- 
ty's area. 

The first mention made of a court for Hampshire county, 
in any records accessible, is June 11, 1755. Who the jus- 
tices were is not stated, but Archibald Wag-er was clerk. 



272 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Two years later we find another session of the same court, 
with a mention of the justices' names and Gabriel Jones as 
clerk. Among the powers conferred upon Lord Fairfax, 
in whose possession the whole area of this county was for 
many years, we find that he was permitted "to hold a court 
in tbe nature of a court baron." This court had power to 
collect debts not exceeding- forty shilling's. He also had 
power to hold a court leet twice a year. 

One of the earliest court records now in the possession 
of the county clerk is an old order book for the years 1788- 
91. Interesting- indeed are some of the orders passed b} r 
these old courts more than a century ago, and while they 
may seem trivial to us at this day, they were at that time, 
no doubt, matters of importance. Let a few r instances 
illustrate. At a session of the justice court held March 
14, 1783, Peter Theran was plaintiff in a case of "trespass, 
assault and battery" ag-ainst Joseph Powell. The jury 
found the defendant g-uilty "in the manner and form as the 
plaintiff ag-ainst him hath declared, and they do assess the 
plaintiff damages by occasion thereof to one penny." Mr. 
Theran is ordered to proceed at once to collect this mag- 
nanimous sum, but whether he succeeded or not we shall 
never know. A more serious verdict was passed, however, 
by a special session of the court called April 3, 1788, "for 
the examination of a man who stood committed to the 
county jail of said county charged with feloniously steal- 
ing a black mare, the property of John Thompson." The 
prisoner denied his guilt, but sundry witnesses brought 
about "the opinion of the court that the said C — P — is 
guilty of the felony aforesaid, but the court doubts whether 
the testimony would be sufficient to convict the prisoner 
before the general court, and the prisoner being willing to 
submit himself to the mercy of the court, it is therefore 
ordered that the said C — P — receive ten lashes on his 
bare back, well laid on at the public whipping post, and 
the sheriff is ordered to cause immediate execution thereof 

20 




1. JUDGE ROBERT WHITE. 2. JOHN B. WHITE. 

3. CAPTAIN C. S. WHITE. 4. COLONEL ROBERT WHITE. 



COURTS AND OFFICERS. 273 

to be done." So the rattle of British musketry bad its 
echo in the crack of the torturing- whip. At a session of 
May court in the same year, we find it ordered by the 
court "that the sheriff let the repairing- of the gaol and also 
the making- of a pillory and stocks to the lowest bidder." 

The common medium of exchang-e for a period of about 
fifteen years after the Revolution was tobacco, and we 
find that witnesses were paid twenty-five pounds a day for 
attending- court, and at the rate of four pounds for each 
mile traveled in going" to and from the court house. Hunt- 
ing- in those early days was no doubt pursued as a means of 
livelihood and in some instances, at least, it appears to 
have been profitable. By the county court of December 
16, 1790, one man is ordered to be paid ten pounds and five 
shilling's for ten wolves' heads. This sum was just equal 
to the salary of the prosecuting- attorney of the county for 
that year. Such was the general routine of business that 
occupied the time of these early courts from which our 
execellent judicial system has been /evolved. 

The records of the superior courts for Hampshire 
county are very incomplete, owing- partly to the fact that 
the courts for this county were held principally in other 
counties for many years after the Revolutionary war. 

The courts of this county were the same as those of Vir- 
ginia until the formation, of West Virginia info a state. 
For this reason a brief notice of the courts of Virginia 
more than a century ago may not be amiss here. In the 
acts of the general assembly of 1792 there is provision 
made for a court of appeals, consisting of one judge, who 
composed the court. This was afterwards changed to 
five judges, any three of whom constituted a court for ap- 
pellate cases. This court was held twice a year at Rich- 
mond, or such other place as the general assembly desig- 
nated. 

The general court at this time was composed of ten 
judges and met at Richmond twice a year. These ten 



274 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



judges were sent out by twos to hold district courts in the 
different judicial divisions of the state. In 1819 the num- 
ber of judges was increased to fifteen, and each judge was 
to hold one circuit court a year in each county of bis dis- 
trict. The district courts of this county were always held 
at Winchester, where all such legal business as fell within 
the jurisdiction of such a court had to be transacted. 
From the district court established very soon after the 
capture of Cornwallis we have by an easy step the circuit 
courts of today. 

In 1818 we find it stated in the Revised Cods that there 
was to be held one superior court of chancery in each of 
the nine districts of the state. The counties of Frederick, 
Shenandoah, Hardy, Hampshire, Berkeley, Jefferson and 
Loudon composed Winchester district, where this court 
was held twice a year for the counties named. 

It was not until after the constitution of 1830 was adopted 
that any superior court was held in Hampshire. The first 
was called the circuit superior court of law and chancery, 
and was held at Romney court house, October 5, 1831, with 
Richard E. Parker, one of the judges of the seventh judi- 
cial district and judge of the thirteenth judicial district, 
presiding-. 

At the April session, 1832, we find present as presiding 
judge, John Scott, "a judge of the general court." He 
does not appear to have tarried long, as at the next term in 
October, of the seme year, Richard E. Parker again ap- 
pears as judge, and so continues until September, 1836. 

Isaac R. Douglass was his successor and appears for the 
first time at April session, 1837, and continues until Sep- 
tember, 1850. 

Following him came Richard Parker, evidently a differ- 
ent person from the first judge. He served as judge from 
1851 until 1861 with the single exception of the September 
session, 1851, at which time G. E. Samuels was the pre- 
siding judge. 



COURTS AND OFFICERS. 



275 



During- the period, 1361 to 1865, there was no superior 
court on account of the. troublous conditions attendant on 
the civil war. The period covered by Richard Parker 
was under the constitution of 1850 and it was during- this 
time that the name circuit court came into use. This 
court is still called bv that name. 

The constitution of 1850 established Clarke, Frederick, 
Hampshire, Morgan, Berkeley and Jefferson counties as 
the thirteenth judicial district. Under this constitution 
the present Court of appeals came into being. It was com- 
posed of five judg-es, one for each section. These were 
elected bv the people for a term of twelve years while the 
circuit judges were elected for a term of eight years in 
the same manner. 

After the civil war U. P. W. Balch was judge for one 
term, September, 1865. 

In May, 1866, we find E. C. Bunker serving as judge and 
he continued in that capacity until 1868 with the single 
exception of the September term, 1866, when Thomas W. 
Harrison, of the Third judicial district, was judge in his 
stead. 

J. P. Smith, of the Eleventh judicial district, served from 
March, 1868, to September, 1869. 

For a single term, March, 1869, court was held by 
Judge George Eoomis, of the Ninth judicial district. 

The period of September, 1869, to Aug-nst, 1870, was 
supplied by Judge Joseph A. Chapline. 

Judge Ephraim B. Hall, judge of the Sixth judicial dis- 
trict, served from October, 1870, to March, 1873. 

For a period of three }^ears, August, 1873, to 1876, J. W. 
F. Allen filled the position. 

The longest period covered by any judge in this county 
was that during which Judge James D. Armstrong served. 
He became judge in 1876 and presided over the courts of 
the counties in his district with singular ability for six- 
teen years, resigning in 1892. He was elected as judge o 



276 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

the Fourth judicial circuit, but the state has been re dis- 
tricted and _Eendieton, Hampshire, Hardy, Grant and 
Mineral counties now form the Twelfth judicial district. 

Upon the resignation of Judge Armstrong-, R. W. Dailey, 
Jr., was appointed by the governor in his stead and later 
was elected to the office by popular vote. 

Below is a list of the justices of the county of Hamp- 
shire together with the date of their appointment or elec- 
tion: 

1788 — Abraham Johnson, Isaac Millar, Samuel Dew, 
Ralph Humphries, Ignatius Wheeler, George Beall, 
Thomas Maccubin, Michael Cresap, John J. Jacob, Philip 
Wig-gins, Marquis Calmes, William Fox, Thomas Collins, 
Andrew- Cooper, John Mitchell, Okey Johnson, David 
Mc Crack in. 

1789 — James Monroe. 

1790 — Isaac Parsons, Jonathan Purcell, James Martin, 
Cornelius Ferrel, Edward McCarty, Solomon Jones, Elias 
Poston. 

The records for the years 1790 to 1795 are lost.- 

1795 — Alexander King, Francis White, William Vause, 
John Jack, Virgil McCrackin, John Snyder. 

1796— John Parish. 

1793 — John Mitchell, James McBride, John Parrill, 
Mathew Pig-mon, Archibald Linthicum. 
No records for the j^ears 1798 to 1814. 

1815 — James Dailey, Isaac Kuykendall. 

1816 — Henry Cookus. 

1817— Thomas Collins. 
1817 to 1824— No records. 

1824 — George Sharpe, Jacob Vandiver, Christopher 
Heiskell, David Gibson, Frederick Sheets, Samuel Cock- 
er ill, John Sloan, Reuben Davis, William Armstrong, 
William Muiledy, Eli Beal, Elisha Thompson, Jacob 
Smith, Robert Sherrard, David Parsons, Nathaniel Kuy- 
kendall, Vause Fox, John McDowell, John Stump. 



COURTS AND OFFICERS. 



277 



1828— William C. Wodrow, Ephraim Dunn, Marquis 
Monroe, Philip Falls, John Brady, William Donaldson, 
William Welch, Zebulon Sheetz. 

1831— Michael Pagh. 

1832 to 1837— No record. 

1837 — James Higgins, V/illiam Vance, Thomas Car- 
skadon, Robert Newman, William Racey, John McDowell, 
Daniel Mytinger. 

1838— Daniel Keller, William Ely, John Stump, William 
A. He i shell. 

1840— Robert Sherrard. 

1842 — ■William Vandiver, Samuel Davis, George Baker, 
Robert Monroe, William Miller, Joseph Frazier. 

1843— Robert Carmichael, David Pugh, George W. 
Washington, Charles Blue, Joseph Smith, Samuel Bum- 
garner. 

1844— Thomas B. White, Isaac Baker, Nimrod McNary. 
1846 — George Baker, Isaac Baker, Robert B. Sherrard. 

1849— John E. Temole, Edward M. Armstrong, 

1850— Samuel J. Stump. 

The office of justice was abandoned with the adoption 
of the constitution of 1851. 

The judges of the superior courts of Hampshire county 
since 1830 are given below. The dates show in what year 
they began to serve: 

Richard E. Parker, 1831; Isaac R. Douglass, 1837; Rich- 
ard Parker, 1851. Courts were practically suspended 
during the civil war. The judges since the war are: L. P. 
W. Balch, 1865; E. C. Banker, 1866; J. P. Smith, 1868; Geo. 
Loo mis, 1869; Joseph A. Chapline, 1869; Ephraim B. Hall, 
; 1870; J. W. F. Allen, 1873; Jas. D. Armstrong, 1876; R. W. 
' Dailey, jr., 1892. 

The names of those w T bo have served as members of the 
house of delegates from Hampshire county are as follows: 

James I. Barrick, 1863; Thomas P. Adams, 1865; Samuel 
Cooper, 1866; John Largent, 1868; John J. Jacobs, 1869; 



278 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Alfred K. Pownall, 1870; Francis W. Heiskell, 1871; John 
Monroe, 1872; George Deaver, jr., 1873; Alexander Monroe, 
1875; Asa Hiett, 1877; Alexander Monroe, 1879; Henry B. 
Gilkeson, 1883; A.' L. Pug-h, 1887; Gecrg-e A. Hott, 1891; 
Evan P. Pug-h, 1895; B. W. Power, 1897. 

The following* is a list of the prosecuting- attorneys of 
the county, with the year of their appointment or election: 
Chas. McGill, 1788; William Naylor, 1828; Philip B. Streit, 
1830; Angus McDonald, 1836; Jas. D. Armstrong-, 1844; 
Alfred P. White, 1850; A. W. McDonald, jr., 1858, William 
Perry, 1865; R. W. Dailey, jr., 1870; W. B. Cornwall, 1892. 

The clerks of the county court of Hampshire county are 
as follows: 

Archibald Wag-er, 1755; Gabriel Jones, 1757; Andrew 
Woodrow, 1782; Samuel McGuire, 1815; John B. White, 
1815. No courts 1861-64. Thos. A. Kellar, 1865; J. A. 
Parsons, 1870; C. S. White, 1873. 

The clerks of circuit court of Hampshire county: 

Smith, 1865; C. M. Taylor, 1865; C. S. White, 1873; 

V. M. Poling, 1876. 

The following list contains the names of the surveyors 
of Hampshire county: 

James Genn, 1755; Elias Poston, 1778; Joseph Nevill, 
1786; John Mitchell, 1788; John Jones, 1808; Daniel /Lyons, 
1810; Samuel Dew, 1816; John Sloan, 1827; Samuel (booper, 
1852; Abram Smith, 1859; Warner T. High, 1865; David 
Biser, 1866; J. Z. Chadwick, 1868; Chas. N, Hiett, 1870; 
Alex. Monroe, J. G. Ruckman, Robert Monroe. 

The following- is a list of the assessors of Hampshire 
county from 1865 to 1897: 

Alfred H. Pownall, Eastern district, 1865; William S. 
Purg-ett, Y^estern district, 1865; Georg-e Haw T es, district 
No. 1, 1866; George Milleson, district No. 2, 1866; Benja- 
min Pugh, district No. 1, 1870; Georg-e Milleson, district 
No. 2, 1870; Samuel C. Ruckman, district No. 1, 1872; Geo. 
Milleson, district No. 2, 1872: James A. Gibson, district 



COURTS AND OFFICERS. 



279 



No. 1, 1876; George Milleson, district No. 2, 1876; James 
A. Gibson, district No. 1, 1880; Georg-e Milleson, district 
district No. 2, 1830; James A. Gibson, district No. 1, 1884; 
Evan P. Pug-h, district No. 2, 1884; James A. Gibson, dis- 
trict No. 1, 1888; Evan P. Pug-h, district No. 2, 1888; John 
Blue, dis:r ct No. 1, 1892; Maurice Scanlon, district No. 2, 
1892; John Blue, district No. 1, 1896; C. W. Schaffenaker, 
district No. 2, 1896. 

A list of the sheriffs of Hampshire county since its for- 
mation is as follows: 

Edward C. Davis, 1754; Abraham Johnson, 1756; Elias 
Posten, 1738; Thomas MeCubbin, 1790; William Fox, 1814; 
James Coleman, 1815; Lewis Petters, 1816; Thomas Col- 
lins, 1818; James Dailey, 1819; E. M. McCarty, 1821; Fran- 
cis White, 1825; Isaac Ku}^kendall, 1826; Frederick Sheetz, 
1829; Georg-e Sharp e, 1831; J. Vandiver, 1833; M, Pug-h, 
1835; Samuel Cockerel!, 1837; John Sloan, 1839; John Mc- 
Dowell, 1841: William Armstrong-, 1843; Yause Fox, 1845; 
Reuben Davis, 1848; John Stump, 1850; Eli Beall, 1852; J. 
C. Heiskell, 1854; Georg-e Milleson, 1856; D. T. Keller, 
1858; J. C. Heiskell, 1860; J. H. Trout, 1865; J. A. Jarboe, 
1866; J. H. Powell, 1868; Samuel Cooper, 1870; W. H. 
.Powell, 1872; R. D. Powell, 1876; Jonn Monroe, 1830; W. 
H. Powell, 1834; Georg-e Milleson, 1838; A. L. Pug-h, 1892; 
James A. Monroe, 1896. 

At the legislature of 1863 Hampshire was among- the 
counties reported as having- no sheriff or other collector of 
the revenue "because of the dangers incident thereto." 

County superintendents of Hampshire: 

Henry Head, 1865; John J. Jacob, 1866; Rev. O. P. 
Wirgman, 1867; Thomas A. Kellar, 1871; Dr. Townsend 
Clayton, 1873; A. M. Alverson, 1875; Henry B. Gilkeson, 
1877; Chas. N. Hiett, 1879; Daniel M. Sbawen, 1835; Chas. 
W. Stump, 1889; Jonathan F. Tutwiler, 1891; Chas. N. 
Hiett, 1895. Jocob was appointed to fill out the term of 
Head. 



CHAPTER XXI1L 

«o» 

OLD ROADS AND FERRIES. 

BY HU MAXWELL. 

That travel was general throughout Hampshire county 
a century ago i's shown by the number of ferries. At that 
time bridges w T ere few, and those who would cross the 
larger streams must do so by boat. A list of public fer- 
ries in the county, in the year 1790, so far as it is now pos- 
sible to compile it, shows that there were eight, as follows: 

Over the South branch, where R. Parker lived at that 
time. 

Over the South branch at the residence of Isaac Parsons. 

Over the South branch from the land of John Pancake 
to that of Jacob Earsom. 

Over the South branch at the residence of Conrad Glaze. 

Over the Capon from James Chenowith's to James 
Largent's. 

Over the Capon at the residence of Elias Poston. 

Over the north fork of Capon at the residence of Rees 

Prichards. . 

Over the Potomac at the residence of Luther Martin, 
below the confluence of the North and South branches. 

The rate of toll established by law for all of these ferries 
was six cents for a man, and six cents for a horse, except 
the ferry at R. Parker's and that at John Pancake's, and 
the rate for these was live cents for a man and five for a 
horse. There was a schedule of tolls for vehicles of all 
kinds, and for sheep, hog's and cattle. The rate was es- 
tablished by law, and there was a severe penalty for an 
overcharge on the part of the ferryman, who must refund 



OLD ROADS AND FERRIES. 281 



to the injured party the amount of toll demanded and also 
pay a fine of two dollars. These ferries were public, that 
is, they were established and regulated by tile state, but 
whether the keepers received salaries for their services, 
or whether they retained a percentage of their collections, 
is not clear from the reading- of the law on the subject, 
passed by the Virginia assembly in 1792. But the infer- 
ence is that they retained a percentage, otherwise there 
would have been little temptation to overcharge, and no 
need of so severe a law against it. The probability that 
the ferrymen received a percentage is likewise strength- 
ened by the study of an act of the Virginia assembly 
passed the same year for the purpose of breaking- up pri- 
vate ferries. It can be seen that the state was in the ferry 
business strictly for the money there was in it. The law 
provided that no one should run a private ferry for profit 
where it would take patronage from a public one. The 
penalty for so doing seems unnecessarily severe. The 
person who undertook to turn a few dimes into his own 
pocket by cariwing travelers across a river, where those 
travelers might go by public ferry, was fined twenty dol- 
lars for each offense, and half of it to go to the nearest 
public ferryman and the other half to the person who gave 
the information; and in case the public ferryman gave the 
information, the entire fine went into his pocket. . It will 
readily be surmised that the public ferryman maintained 
a sharp lookout for private boats Which should be so pre- 
sumptuous as to dare enter into competition for a portion 
of the carrying trade, and it is equally probable that com- 
petition with public service soon became unpopular, when 
a man might receive five cents fo.* carrying a traveler 
across a river, and to be fined twenty dollars for it. 

Messengers and other persons on business for the state 
were not required to pay toll, and they must be carried 
across immediately, at any hour of the day or night. But, 
as a precaution against being imposed upon by persons 



282 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

< 

falsely claiming- to be in the service of the state, the ferry- 
man was authorized to demand proof, which the applicant 
was obliged to furnish. This proof consisted of a letter, 
on the back of which must be written "public service," and 
must.be signed by some officer, either in the civil or mili- 
tary service of the state. Inasmuch as the punishment for 
forgery at that time was death, it is improbable that any 
person would present forged documents to the ferryman 
in order to save a few cents toll. The men who kept the 
ferries enjoyed some immunities and privileges denied to 
the masses. The}^ were exempt f rom work on the public 
roads. They were not required to pay county taxes, but 
whether this privilege was extended only to poll tax, or 
whether it applied also to personal property and real estate, 
is not clear from the reading* of the regulations governing* 
the business. They were exempt from military service 
due the state, and they were excused from holding the 
office of constable. 

The roads of Hampshire county compare favorably with 
•those of any other county in the state. In the rugged and 
thinly settled mountain districts the highways are* often 
not all the people desire, but this is offset b} T the fine pikes 
which follow the principal streams. History does not 
record the beginning of road-building in Hampshire. Their 
growth lias been an evolution from the trails and paths 
followed, first by Indians, and afterwards by the early set- 
tlers. One by one these paths were widened for wagons, 
but the earliest wagon road in the county cannot now be 
named. It may be that none were made prior to the -mili- 
tary road constructed by Braddock during the campaign 
of 1755, unless a portion of a road made the preceding* year 
for military purposes may be classed as a wagon road. 
The Braddock road was not built as a temporary measure. 
It was not the purpose of the British government and the 
American colonies that it should be used only as a military 
road and then abandoned. But it was to be a great high- 



OLD ROADS AND FERRIES. 283 

way between the east and the boundless and almost unex- 
plored west. Civilization was to march toward the setting 
sun upon that thoroughfare. The land beyond the moun- 
tains was to be reached along- the hig-hway built b}^ Brad- 
dock and his army as they marched against the French. 
Wagons and teams to the value of a quarter of a million 
dollars went west with the army. They never returned, 
but were abandoned on the Mjonongahela after the terrible 
defeat of July 9, 1755. That was the largest train of wag- 
ons that ever passed through Hampshire county, except, 
perhaps, that of General Forbes in 1753; and it is remark- 
able that it should have been the first, and that the first 
should have had so melancholy ending. There is no evi- 
dence that the Braddock road was ever extensively used 
by the people. Portions of it were early aba.ndoned. 

A number of the roads now in the county are on excel- 
lent grades, so far as the topography of the country wil 
permit; but others were never properly surveyed, and 
many grades are steeper than necessary, while in numer- 
ous instances hills and mountains are crossed when the 
roads could have been constructed as easily around them. 
The men who laid them out forgot that a potbail is as long 
standing up as laying down. 

The Virginia road law, several parts of which were in 
operation before the beginning of the nineteenth century, 
provided amply for roads. All men over sixteen years of 
age must work on the highways. Slaves must work the 
same as free people. The owner of two slaves who per- 
formed their required labor on the highways w^as exempt. 
The law required that every road must be kept in repair, 
and thirty feet wide. This provision was seldom complied 
"with. Finger-boards to direct travelers must be kept at 
all intersecting roads, and the overseer was authorized by 
law to take timber and stone from adjoining lands to be 
used for finger-boards, but such material must be paid for. 
This law was passed in 1785. Bridges were required to 



284 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



be at least twelve feet wide. When a road or bridg-e was 
in need of repairs the overseer could impress teams and 
teamsters and seize material for that purpose. But, though 
material mig-ht be taken from county property, the law for- 
bade going upon town property for that purpose. When 
such material had been seized, its value was determined by 
two householders acting- as a board of arbitration. Bridges 
across streams which were the dividing- lines of two coun- 
ties must be maintained by both counties in proportion to 
their respective assessments. The punishment prescribed 
for cutting a tree across a public road, or in a stream above 
a public bridg-e, and not removing- it within forty-eight 
hours, was a fine of fifty dollars. A road leading across a 
milldain was required to be kept in repair, twelve feet wide, 
by the owner of the dam. In case the dam washed away 
the owner was not held responsible for the repair of the 
road until one month after he had repaired the dam and 
had ground one bushel of grain. 

The early law of Virginia was strict on viewers of pro- 
posed roads, lest they should take bribes of such persons 
as were interested in having the highway located in cer- 
tain places. The lav/ passed in 1786 provided that the 
viewers appointed to locate the road should meet at a cer- 
tain point on the proposed road, and begin work. From 
that time until their work was completed they were for- 
bidden to accept any present from any person, "neither 
meat nor drink," on penalty of immediate imprisonments 
The law of 1785 provided that no road could be opened 
through a lot in town without the owner's consent. The 
land could not be condemned. 

Road overseers were not highly paid. In 1830 they 
received fifty cents a day, and there were thirty of them 
in Hampshire county. It may be of interest to know who 
they were at that time, and their names are given: Caleb 
Evans, Abbott Carder, John Horn, James Summerville r 
Absalom Doll, Georg-e Rudolph, Jacob Pugh, Moses 



OLD ROADS AND FERRIES. 



Thomas, John Berry, Benoni Cassady, Michael Pugh, John 
Crawfish, John Leather man, Thomas Sloan, "William Tor- 
rence, Mathew Hare, John Largent, Jesse Bane, Jacob 
"Vandever, Arthur Spencer, Jacob Lambert, Henry Povvel- 
son, Frederick Spaid, Clark D. Powell, Peter Evans, 
Thomas Dean, Joseph Smith, Peter Leather man. 

The building- of the Northwestern pike from Winches- 
ter to Parkersburg-, throug-h Romney, was a great event. 
This splendid highway was surveyed by one of the mili- 
tary engineers who served under Napoleon Bonapart in 
the Russian campaign. On the downfall of the emperor, 
it became necessary for the engineer to leave France, and 
he came to the state of Virginia, and was employed 
in road surveys. The construction of the pike was com- 
menced at Winchester and was completed as far as Rom- 
ney in 1837. The road was required to be twenty-one 
feet wide, and no grade more than five degrees, which is 
about two hundred and eighty-five feet to the mile. It 
was fortunate for Hampshire that nature cut g-aps through 
Mill creek mountain in four places, by which roads may 
pass without climbing over that high and steep range. 
'These g-aps are, at the mouth of Mill creek, at upper 
Hanging- Rocks, at lower Hanging Rocks, and at the Poto- 
mac just above the mouth of the South branch, The 
Northwestern pike passes through Mill creek gap, by a 
grade of about one degree, and along- a route of great 
beauty. Every stream on this road was bridged. During 
the war nearly all the bridges were destroyed. The most 
of them have been rebuilt. 

The Jersey mountain road was surveyed and improved 
in 1846. An older road had followed nearly the same 
route for many years, but at the above date it was widened 
and straightened. The Capon and North branch turn- 
pike* was made about 1842. It passes from Cumberland 
to Capon bridge, by way of Frankfort, Springfield, Hig- 
ginsville, Slanesville and North river mills. It was built 



286 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



by subscription, two-fifths of the stock subscribed by the 
state of Virginia, and the other by private parties, The 
pike from Greenspring to Moorefield was built by a stock 
company about 1850, the state taking- two-fifths of the 
stock. This was called the Moorefield and North branch 
turnpike. In 1852 a turnpike was built from a point near 
Charles Taylor's, on the Capon and North branch turn- 
pike, to a point near French's store, on the Potomac, near 
the mouth of the South branch. 

The first stage line in Hampshire county, so far as any 
record exists, was established in 1830, between Winches- 
ter and Cumberland. In 1845 the stagfe lines from Green- 
spring to Romney and from Romney to Parkersburg and 
Marietta, Ohio, were owned by Nathaniel Kuykendall and 
Jesse Hildebrand. This was the main thoroughfare be- 
tween the east and west, through what is now the nothern 
part of West Virginia. The National road, from' Cumber- 
land to Wheeling was a rival in importance. The stages 
from Romney to the Ohio river made remarkably good 
time, reaching Clarksburg in one day and Parkersburg in 
two. Stages left Greenspring for the Ohio river on Mon- 
days, Yv T ednesdays and Fridays, "upon the arrival of the 
cars from Baltimore," as stated in an advertisement of that 
date. It would appear that only three passenger trains a 
week arrived from the east at that time. The distance 
from Greenspring to Parkersburg was two hundred and 
ten miles, and the fare by stage was ten dollars. The 
railroad fare from Baltimore to Greenspring was four 
dollars, or from Baltimore to Parkersburg, fourteen dol- 
lars. The time required for the journey from Baltimore 
to the Ohio river was fifty-seven hours; and from Balti- 
more to Greenspring nine hours. Stages from Winches- 
ter and from Moorefield connected at Romney wifh the 
stages for the Ohio river. 



CHAPTER XXIV, 



. «o» 

EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS, 

BY H, L. SWISHER. 

The tracks of the Indians were scarcely effaced from 
our valleys and hills before the pioneer pedagogue appeared 
upon the scene. Who the first teacher was that ever meted 
out learning- in the county of Hampshire will never be 
known. Even the names of these early teachers have be- 
come mere traditions, and we can only describe them as a 
class, making- abundant allowance for exceptions. 

In those early days that a man was a teacher did not sig- 
nify that he was educated or cultivated. In fact these were 
often his least important qualifications. He must, how- 
ever, be a man of courag-e and muscle, able to hold his own 
"when the "big- boys" entered upon the precarious pastime 
of "putting- the teacher out." He must, moreover, be ex- 
pert in the use of the rod and skilled in making- quill pens. 
While he was not always of the most religions turn of 
mind, he had no shadow of doubt but that Solomon's saying- : 
"Spare the rod and spoil the child," was a divine revela- 
tion. 

This primitive apostle of education, the forerunner of 
the present educational system, labored under many dis- 
advantages. His remuneration was small, arid a place to 
hold his school was not always to be had. Sometimes a 
rude hut near a fort answered the purpose, or sometimes 
a public-spirited citizen would allow the use of his cabin a 
few hours each day. 

It was not many years, however, until the backwoods 
school house w T as built. It was not an elegant building, but 



283 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

it served as a place for holding- schools, religious and polit- 
ical meeting's. The structure was usually of unhewn logs 
with the cracks between more or less closed by puncheons 
and mortar. The floor was made of puncheons placed 
with the hewn side up, and the door made of clapboards. 
Somewhere in the wall a part of a log- was left out and 
pamper greased with lard served to close the aperture 
and let in the light. There was a huge chimney at one 
end large enough to accommodate a child or two on each side 
and yet have a roaring fire in the middle. Nor was the furni- 
ture more inviting than the building itself. The seats 
were made of split log's, hewn smooth on one surface, 
which was placed upward and supported by legs thrust 
into auger holes on the under side. These benches had 
no backs, and as they were rather high the position was 
not an easy one, especially for the smaller pupils, who sat 
all day dangling their tiny feet in a vain effort to reach 
the floor. Writing was done exclusively with pens made 
from quills, and a slab supported on pins driven into the 
wall served as a writing desk. Among the earlier text 
books there was a United States speller, the New Testa- 
ment, the English reader and. an arithmetic. 

These early schools received no state aid, nor were they 
regulated by law. They were made up in something like 
the following manner. A peripatetic pedagogue appeared 
in a neighborhood with a subscription paper and each fam- 
ily "signed" whatever number of pupils it felt able to 
send. If enough "signers " were secured the school would 
begin; if not, the teacher wandered on to another neigh- 
borhood to try his luck again. Not infrequently the 
teacher took his pay in "produce," and the meager pay he 
received was made to go further by what was called 
"boarding round." By this system the teacher stayed a 
part of the time with each of his patrons. He frequently 
contributed to the comfort of the families with whom he 
stayed by chopping wood and doing chores. 



EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS. 



239 



The instruction given was usually of a very rudimentary 
nature, embracing- the three R's, "reading-, 'riting and 
'rithmetic,'' and some knowledge of spelling-. In mathe- 
matics the study extended as far as vulgar fractions, 
before which came proportion in the old arithmetics. But 
proportion was not proportion in those old books; it was 
the "singie rule of three" and its mastery was consid- 
ered an intellectual feat. There were no blackboards, no 
globes and charts, no steel pens, in fact hardly any appa- 
ratus and yet these primitive schools were the places 
where many a man got his inspiration that in after life 
made him a giant among- his fellows. 

It was not until 1810 that Virginia gave any recognition 
to popular education. It was then that the g-eneral assem- 
bly created what was known as the "Literary Fund." 
One of the provisions of the act was that all escheats, con- 
fiscations, fines and pecuniary penalties and all rights in 
personal property, accruing to the commonwealth as 
derelict and having no rightful proprietor should be used 
for the encouragement of learning. The auditor was 
instructed to open an account with the "Literary Fund." 
The management of this fund was vested in the governor, 
lieutenant governor, treasurer, attorney general and 
president of the court of appeals. 

By an act passed 1818 it was provided that "it shall be 
the duty of the courts of the several counties, cities and 
corporate towns * * * in the month of October or as 
soon thereafter as may be, to appoint not less than five 
nor more than fifteen discreet persons to be called school 
commissioners." These commissioners had charge of 
the disbursement of their pro rata share of the fund which 
,was distributed annually. In 1819 the "Literary Fund" 
amounted to four thousand five hundred dollars. That 
portion received by each county was used to pa) r the 
tuition of indigent children at the subscription schools. 
These children were selected by the commissioners and 



290 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



apportioned to the different schools of the county. Here 
we see the first instance of the state taking- it upon itself 
to educate its citizens, a work which at the present time 
seems so necessary. These "poor" or '-'primary" schools 
were what in 1863 developed into the free school system. 

Poor white children only received benefit from the 
"Literary Fund." No provision was made for the educa- 
tion of colored children, in fact it was discouraged by sen- 
timent and statute. An act passed by the general assem- 
bly, March 2, 1819, provides, "that all meetings or assem- 
blages of slaves at any school or schools for teaching 
them reading or writing either in the day or in the night 
shall be deemed and considered an unlawful assembly." 
Corporal panishment to the extent of twenty lashes was to 
be inflicted upon the offenders. This was likely to make 
it unpleasant for the philanthropic teacher who sought 
to give instruction to his African brother. 

There was a semi-compulsory provision connected with 
the distribution of the "Literary Fund" by which the com- 
missioners were allowed to select children whom they con- 
sidered as standing in need of help. After these children 
had been selected by the board of commissioners it became 
the duty of the parents or guardians to send such children, 
and if they failed they were made to pay a sum equal to the 
tuition for each day the children were absent. Many per- 
sons objected to this system of schools as when they re- 
ceived aM it placed them in the light of paupers. There 
were unquestionably many grave faults in the system, but 
it was a step toward that system which sets forth the idea 
that there is no child either too rich or too poor to receive 
an education at the hands of the state. 

There was little change in the school system from 1819 
to 1845, when we find an act passed by the state legislative 
body authorizing the county court to redistrict the coun- 
ties and appoint a commissioner for each district. These 
commissioners were to meet at the court house of their 



EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS. 



291 



respective counties at the October term of court, and pro- 
ceed to elect viva voce a county superintendent of schools. 
This is the first officer of that kind provided for in the 
school sj^stem. His duties were numerous, among- them 
was to keep a register of the children in his district and 
report annually to the "Literary Fund" the condition of 
the schools under his care. 

Still another step toward the free school system of today 
was an act for the establishment of a district public school 
system. This act was passed March 5, 1846. It provided 
that if one-third of the voters of a county should petition 
the county court, the court should submit to them at the 
next .regular election the question of establishing- district 
public schools. If two-thirds of the votes cast were in 
favor of such schools they were established. The main- 
tenance of these schools was accomplished "by a uniform 
rate of increased taxation" upon the taxable property in 
the county. This additional levy was laid by the school 
commissioners. There was also a provision for three trus- 
tees in each district, two of whom were elected by the vot- 
ers of the district at the annual election, and one of whom 
was appointed by the board of commissioners. These 
trustees were authorized to select a site for a school house 
in the district, build and furnish the same, and to employ 
a teacher, whom they could discharg-e for g-ood cause. 

It was also a part of their official business "to visit the 
school at least once in every month and examine the schol- 
ars and address the pupils if they see nt, and exhort them 
to prosecute their studies diligently and to conduct them- 
selves virtuously and properly." 

We see, then, how nearly the plan of the present system 
of schools was evolved more than fifty years ago, but its 
weak point was that it was left to the option of each county 
to accept or neglect it as the people saw fit, and we may 
safely say it was more often neglected than accepted. 

The boom of cannon had scarcely died out of our hills 



292 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



when the arts of peace began to be taught in every county 
in the state. During- the horrors of civil strife, in which, 
time our state was born, the free schools had been estab- 
lished. The system was in operation before the war in 
many states of the union, and in the neighboring states of 
Pennsylvania and Ohio. When those men who refused to 
follow the old state in seceding from the union met to frame 
a constitution for the new state they comprehended the 
advantages of a uniform system of free education. Well 
knowing- the opposition such a system would meet with 
and the obstacles it would have to surmount, they builded on 
a sure foundation by inserting in the first constitution this 
declaration: "The legislature shall provide, as soon as 
practicable, for the establishment of a thorough and ef- 
cient system free schools by appropriating thereto the 
interest of the invested school fund, the net proceeds 
of all forfeitures, confiscations and fines accruing to 
this state under the laws thereof, and by general tax- 
ation on persons or property, or otherwise. They shall 
also provide for raising in each township [district], by 
the authority of the people thereof, such a proportion of 
the amount required for the support of free schools 
therein as shall be prescribed by general laws. " When 
the first legislature met, December 20, 1863, they showed 
their desire to co-operate with the framers of the con- 
stitution by passing an act establishing the free school 
system. The voters of each township were to elect a 
board of education, and the voters of the county were 
to elect a county superintendent of free schools. The 
first board of education for Hampshire county was that of 
Romney district and was composed of Rev. O. P. Wirg- 
man, president; W T illiam S. Purgett, Dr. Leatherman and 
J. D. Mcllwee, secretary. 

The first county superintendent of free schools was Wil- 
liam Head, who was elected in 1865. At this time there 
were less than a dozen schools in the count} 7 . This sys- 



EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS. 



293 



tern, which all now consider so necessary ana which all 
heartily support, met with vigorous opposition for several 
years after its introduction. The duties of the board of 
education at that time included those now performed by 
both board and trustees. It was not until 1866 that an act 
was passed providing- that the board should appoint three 
trustees for each sub-district. The powers of these trus- 
tees consisted in caring- for school property, hiring- teach- 
ers and visiting- the schools under their charg-e. 

The duties of the count}^ superintendent were many and 
diversified. Ke was "to examine all candidates for the 
profession of teacher and to g-rant certificates to those 
competent." There was at that time a wide range in 
securing a certificate. There were five grades, known as 
number ones, twos, etc., up to number fives. Many of 
those who applied for certificates were woefully unpre- 
pared and few number ones were granted. The lower 
grades, however, made it almost impossible for a candi- 
date to fail if he could write his name and knew the date of 
his birth. There is a current tradition of a teacher 
who presented himself to the county superintendent for 
examination in those early days. When he returned home 
some of his neighbors inquired how he had succeeded. 
He replied that he had done very well, having made a num- 
ber four, but that he intended to return to the next exam- 
ination and try for a number five, as he thought he could 
do better a second time. 

Other duties of the superintendent were to visit the 
schools "at least three times during each term of six 
months," to "encourage the formation of associations of 
teachers and teachers' institutes," and "to secure as far 
as practicable uniformity in the text-books used in schools 
thoughout the count}'"." His salary for this service was to 
range from one hundred to five hundred dollars. 

While these schools were established for persons from 
six to twenty-one years of age, they were even more lib- 



294 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



eral than this. In 1865 union soldiers honorably dis- 
charged from the service could receive instruction in the 
free schools without charge. It was also provided that 
other persons over school age could receive instruction 
upon the payment of a stipulated amount. 

At the present time the district levies are laid by the 
board of education for each district. This has been the 
case since 1868, but previous to that time they were laid by 
the annual township or district meeting's and could not go 
beyond twenty-five cents on each hundred dollars valuation 
for building- fund and twenty cents for the teachers' fund. 
In 1867 the maximum for each fund was fixed at fifty cents 
on the hundred dollars valuation, and the moneys of the 
funds were to be kept separate. Uniformity in the text- 
books was aimed at in a law enacted in 1865, enabling- the 
state superintendent to prescribe a series of class books 
to be used. The question of providing- suitable text- 
books has been one that has alwa3'S confronted and hin- 
dered the advance of education. There is probably not a 
state or territory in the United States that has a series of 
text-books which are wholly satisfactory. When some 
satisfactory solution to this troublesome problem has been 
reached the free schools will make still more wonderful 
steps forward than have been made in the past. 

We have seen that under the laws of Virg-inia, while 
there was in reality no free school system, yet there was 
a provision whereby district schools might be established, 
and later there was an act calling- for three trustees to be 
appointed to care for each district. Trustees were pro- 
vided for as early as 1866 by the new state, and it became 
the duty of the board of education to appoint three trus- 
tees for each sub-district. 

In introducing- the free schools the legislature and 
friends of education overreached themselves by passing a 
law requiring the schools to be kept open uniformly six 
months each year. This could not be done by the maxi- 



EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS. 



295 



mum levy laid, and thus one law made another null and 
void. It was therefore enacted in 1867 that the schools 
should be kept open at least four months in the year, but 
even this could not be done, and in some districts of coun- 
ties in the state there were not more than two months' school 
a year. The constitution of 1872 reaffirmed the position 
of the former one and enjoined upon the legislature to pro- 
vide by general law for a thorough and efficient system of 
free schools. When the legislature assembled after the 
adoption of this constitution, among its first acts were 
those intended to carry out this clause of the constitution. 
A board of education was to be elected in each district, 
composed of a president and two commissioners. At the 
same time one trustee was to be elected. This number 
was afterwards changed to three and they were appointed 
by the board. 

The county superintendent had enjoyed a monopoly on 
holding examinations for candidates for the profession of 
teaching up to the year 1873, but the acts of that year pro- 
vided two examiners to assist him. His office heretofore 
had some possibilities of being moderately lucrative, but 
in 1879 he was reduced to a maximum salary of one hun- 
dred and twenty-five dollars, but as an offset he was ex- 
cused from visiting school and his duties became very few. 
This office has always been so poorly paid as to render it 
almost useless by not holding out inducements sufficient 
to lead men of education and ability to devote their time 
and attention to it. A little more dignity was added to the 
office and a little better salary attached by an act passed 
in 1831 when it was made to pay not less than one hundred 
and fifty dollars nor more than three hundred dollars, and 
the superintendent w T as again required to visit the schools. 
'Just where and by whom the first school was taught in 
Hampshire cannot now be stated with any absolute cer- 
taint}^. There are many traditions and facts, however, 
♦concerning- these schools, some of which will be given. 



296 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Even after the civil war the school houses in this county,, 
perhaps, did not exceed a dozen. In earlier times they 
were exceedingly scarce. There was a school house on 
Sandy ridge where some of the oldest persons now living- 
attended school. This was built about 1835. Another at 
Forks of Capon near John Hiett's was scarcely less old. A 
very old school house with dist floor and a chimney built of 
mud and sticks was standing- as early as 1845 three miles 
from Forks of Capon, near North river. On the Bright's. 
hollow road, one mile from Levels Cross roads, was built 
a school house in 1840. Outside of the towns these were, 
no doubt, among the first, if not the first, school houses 
built in the county. 

The names of the early teachers have almost been for- 
gotten. In the eastern part of the county we hear of the 
names of Barrett, Warren and Higgins as teachers, but 
the dates when and places where they taug-ht are now for- 
gotten. It was without question near the beginning- of 
this century. Jeduthan Hig-bee, who taught in this coun- 
try as early as 1830, came here from England. He had 
been educated for an Episcopal minister, but chose the 
profession of teaching. An entry made in an old note 
book shows that William Dunn taught school in Romney 
in 1813. Other early teachers who have long since passed 
away were a Mr. Chad wick and James A. Cowgill, the 
latter an able preacher of the Disciples' church. 

Some of the pioneer educators of Hampshire are yet- 
alive and can contemplate with pleasure the harvest now 
being gathered from their sowings in former years. 
Among- these is Mrs. D. W. Swisher (nee Katharine 
Bonnifield) who taught her first school in Hampshire 
county, near Higg-insville, in 1845, something over a half 
century ago. Miss Mary E. Keckley is another of our 
aged and respected early lady teachers. Colonel Samuel 
Cooper began teaching in 1843 and Colonel Alexander 
Monroe about the same time. Another of the veteran 



EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS. 297 

educators of this county is B. F. McDonald, who be- 
gan teaching* in 1852 at the age of eighteen. All honor 
to these early workers in the educational vineyard. May 
they share w T ith the present g-eneration the advantages 
that have come to us from their labors. 

The first public school taught in the county had for its 
home the law office of Andrew Kercheval in Romney 
and the teach r was Rev. O. P. Y\~irg-man. This was in 
1864-5. The six or seven schools opened the year after 
the war have grown to be more than a hundred at the 
present time. The county is now divided into seven 
school districts as follows: Gore, Bloomery, Capon, 
Sherman, Springfield, Romney and Mill Creek. Some 
mention of the academic schools is here in place and they 
will be considered in the order of their foundation. 

HoiimeiJ Accvcleill JJ . — Just back of where the present 
court house stands, for many years there stood a stone 
building, constructed so long- ago that all remembrance of 
when it was built is now forgotten. This was the Rom- 
ney academy. Maii} T of the oldest inhabitants of the town 
went to school there in their youth. John G. Combs 
remembers attending school there as early as 1823, at 
which time he was ten years old. He has, however, no 
recollection of when it was built. It was undoubtedly the 
oldest school house in the county, and perhaps was built 
about the beginning" of the present century. The rough, 
unhewn stones of which the acadermy was built, gave it a 
very uncouth exterior. The name of its founder, as well 
as of the first teachers who wielded the rod and saved the. 
child within the walls of this early structure, are lost in 
oblivion. The remembrance of some of those early dis- 
ciples of learning and knights of the birch is yet .fresh in 
the memory of persons now living. Henry Johnson, an 
Englishman, was for }^ears a teacher there. 

Rev. Win. H. Foote became principal about 1S26 and 
continued in that position for many years. The following 



298 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

named g-entlemen were either principals or subordidate 
teachers in the academy at sundry times in its history: 
E. W. Newton, Silas C. Walker, Brown, Thomas Mulledy 
and Samuel Mulledy. 

After it ceased to be used as a school building* the old 
academy was put to various purposes. For a time it was 
the home of the Virginia Arg as. Its upper hall was also 
used for years as a meeting- place for secret orders. The 
walls stood for years after it ceased to be used at all, and 
the place where it stood is yet to be recognized. 

Romney Classical Institute. — It was through 
the educational forces put into operation by the Romney 
literary society that this school was established. Before 
any considerable progress can be made in an}^ enterprise 
it is essential that people first think along the line of pro- 
gress desired. The thought concerning educational ad- 
vancement provoked by the discussions in the literary so- 
ciety at length materialized in the above-named school. 

It was in 1845 that the matter took definite shape. In a 
local paper of the date April 4, 1845, we find a notice asking 
for bids from contractors "'for the erection of a building 
for the Literary Society of Romney." This was, in the 
words of the advertisement, to be "a brick building, 36 
feet by 40 feet, 22 feet high from the foundation of the 
square, to consist of two stories, to have a tin roof and be 
surmounted by a cupola. The end to be the front and to 
be embellished with a handsome portico the whole width 
of the house." The notice is signed by E. M. Armstrong, 
John B. Kerch eval, David Gibson, committee. 

All bids were to be in by the 24th of May of the same 
year, and it was on this day that the dee^d for the land on 
which the building- was to stand was made to the trustees. 
The school opened the following year. 

Rev. Win. H. Foote, who at that time was teaching- an 
academic school in the old court house which stood on the 
present site of W. N. Guthrie's store, was induced to be- 



EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS. 299 

come principal. He continued in this capacity until the 
fall of 1849, when he withdrew and, soon after established 
the Potomac seminary. 

When Dr. Foote resigned E. J. Meany was chosen 
principal. He had for his assistants John J. Jacob, Mrs. 
Meany and Miss Kern. 

For some years there was a literary organization known 
as the Phrena Kosmian society in connection with the insti- 
tute. On November 15, 1850, this society discussed the 
question, "Would the Southern States be justified in 
seceding- from the Confederacy under present circum- 
stances?" There is no record of the conclusion reached, 
but we all know too well, alas, the decision of the states 
themselves little more than a decade after the debate. 

John J. Jacob, afterwards governor of West Virginia, 
"became principal of this school in 1851. At this time Som- 
ney had two academic schools, the seminary and the insti- 
tute, both in a flourishing condition. 

Mr. Jacob w T as succeeded by J. Nelson, who was teach- 
ing in the institute when the war broke out in 1861. The 
doors of the school were then closed until peace once more 
came to possess the land. About 1866 William C. Clayton 
•became principal and held school for a few terms. Mr. 
Dinwiddie was also a teacher in this school after the war. 

When West Virginia decided to establish a school for 
the deaf and blind, Romney put in its bid for the location. 
One of the inducements was the offer on the part of the 
trustees of the classical institute to give the building and 
grounds of that school to form the nucleus of the new 
school for the deaf and blind. Romney was finally chosen 
-as the site for the state school for these unfortunates, and 
with the foundation of the institution we loose sight of the 
Romney Classical institute which was them absorbed by 
and became a part of the new organization. 

Potomac Seminary. — Owing to some friction be- 
tween Dr. Foote, principal, and the governing bod}' of the 



300 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

Romney Classical institute, he resigned the principalship 
of the institute in 1849 and established the Potomac sem- 
inary in 1850. The deed for the land on which the build- 
ing's stand was made a year after the building* was erected. 
It was expressly stipulated in the deed that the principal 
of the seminary should always be a member of the Presby- 
terian church, and that the government of the school should 
be in the hands of the pastor and sessions* Such has 
always been the case, and the school is yet governed and 
presided over in the manner originally intended. 

In the opening- session in the fall of 1850 Rev. W. H. 
Foote was principal, Rev. Edward Martin professor and 
Mrs. Foote and Mrs. White assistants. Dr. Foote con- 
tinued as principal until June, 1861, when the breaking- 
out of the civil war turned the minds of the people to 
things other than education. 

J. M. Diffenderfer took charge of the school soon 
after the war, but his success was not great owing' largely 
to the financial stringency of the times. For a few years 
after Mr. Diffenderfer's resignation no academic school 
was held, but primary instruction in the form of a sub- 
scription school was still given. 

About the year 1870 S. L. Flournoy took charg-e of 
the school and met with considerable success. He was 
succeeded by Dr. John Wilson, who continued for some 
years when the school was ag-ain given over to primary 
instruction. 

W. H. Morton, of Kentucky, in 1890, placed the school 
once more upon an academic basis and it has so continued 
until the present time. Mr. Morton had charg-e of the 
seminary until 1894 when he was succeeded by Professor 
J. B. Bentley, who served as principal for a singie year. 

The present efficient principal took charg-e of the semi- 
nary in the fall of 1895. Under Rev. W. S. Friend, the 
gentleman now in charg-e, the name of this institution of 
learning- was changed from Potomac seminary to Potomac 



EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS. 



301 



academy. Under his administration the tendency has 
been decidedly progressive and the future outlook of the 
school is encouraging-. 

Springfield Academy: — This school might almost 

be called a branch of the Potomac seminary as Dr. Foote, 
who shaped the destinies of the seminary, also took an 
active part in founding- the academy. The deed for the 
ground on which this school was built was made in 1854 by 
William Abernathy to William Henry Foote, William 
Walker and William Earsom, trustees. The deed con- 
veys "the said land to be held for the purpose of erecting 
such buildings as may be thought necessary for carrying 
on a school or schools of such order and grade as may be 
deemed advisable for the welfare of the community." 

The following- gentlemen were principals of this school 
in the order named: Rev. Conkling, John Q. A. Jones, J. 
M. Diffenderfer and Rev. Mr. Chad wick. The academy 
closed its doors during- the late war and they were never 
reopened. 

We have passed in hastv review the various educational 
movements within our county's borders. It is gratifying, 
to be sure, that so much has been done and the past augurs 
well for the future. The principal drawback to educa- 
tional advancement at the present time is the meager 
salaries of the teachers. Such salaries as are now paid 
are not calculated to encourage persons to thoroughly pre- 
pare themselves for the profession of teaching. But let 
the friends of education be patient. Teachers are paid as 
much perhaps as the people are able to pay, or at least as 
much as they are willing to pay, at the present time. 
Public shools have long ago proved their raison d'etre and 
we can but hope and believe that in the future those wmo 
have shared in their blessings will see to it that they are 
well cared for. An institution that has its foundation in 
the affections of a people cannot be easily destroyed. 



CHAPTER XXV, 

«o» 



AMONG OLD LAWS. 

BY HU MAXWELL. 

Hampshire being- the oldest county in the state of West 
Virginia, has been governed by every state law of Vir- 
ginia in force between the years of 1754 and 1861, and by 
every West Virginia law from 1863 until the present. A 
histor\^ of the county would be incomplete without a refer- 
ence to some of these old laws. They are not only worthy 
of consideration because they were once the rule of the 
land, but they should be studied to show the progress of 
society during the past century. There are persons who 
speak of the good old times as though everything were 
better than now; and who speak of the people of a hundred 
years ago as if the}' were greater, purer, nobler than the 
men of today, and as if when they died, wisdom died with 
them. The historian knows that this belief is erroneous. 
Not only are there men now living who are as upright, 
wise and patriotic as any who ever lived, but society, in all 
its branches and departments, has grown better. Only 
the pessimist refuses to see that the human race is climb- 
ing to a higher level, and not retrograding. 

To bring this truth nearer home, to the people of Hamp- 
shire county, let a retrospective view of the customs and 
laws prevailing here a century ago be taken. That the 
people of Virginia, and those of Hampshire., in common 
with the rest, tolerated the laws long after the close of the 
Revolutionary war, is proof that the laws were not obnox- 
ious to a majority of the people; otherwise they would 
have changed them. Before proceeding to a statement of 



AMONG OLD LAWS. 



303 



the acts of the Virginia legislature, let it be remembered 
that at that time Washington was president of the United 
States, and the great men of Virginia, at the close of the, 
last century and the beginning- of this, were in their prime. 
They were responsible for the bad laws, as well as for 
the good; if not directly, at least indirectly, for they were 
looked upon as leaders. Patrick Henry, who had ex- 
claimed, "give me liberty or give me death," was yet liv- 
ing and practicing law; John Randolph of Roanoke was 
entering his career of greatness; James Monroe, soon to 
be president of the United States, was a leader in Virginia; 
George Mason, the author of the Bill of Rights, had not 
yet lost his influence; James Madison, also to be president 
of the United States, was a leader among the Virginians; 
William Wirt, one of Virginia's greatest lawyers, was in 
his prime; Edmund Randolph, governor of Virginia, was 
in politics; John Marshall, the famous chief justice, was 
practicing in the courts; Thomas Jefferson, the author of 
the Declaration of Independence, was in the height of 
power; and the list might be extended much further. Yet, 
with all of these truly great men in power in Virginia, the 
legislature of that state passed such laws as will be found 
below: 

On December 26, 1792, an act was passed for the pur- 
pose of suppressing- vice, and provided that for swearing, 
cursing or being drunk the line should be eighty-three 
cents for each offense, and if not paid, the offender should 
have ten lashes on the bare back. For working on Sunday 
the fine was one dollar and sixty-seven cents. For steal- 
ing a hogshead or cask of tobacco found lying by the pub- 
lic highway, the punishment was death. 

On December 19, 1792, an act was passed by the Vir- 
ginia legislature providing that any person found g'uilty of 
forgery must be put to death; and the same punishment 
was provided for those who erased, defaced or changed the 
inspector's stamp on flour or hemp. No less severe was 



304 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



the punishment for those who stole land warrants. But 
for the man who made, passed, or had in his possession 
counterfeit money, knowing- it to be such, the penalty of 
death was not enough. He was not only to be put to death, 
but was forbidden the attendance of a minister, and must 
go to execution "in the blossom of his sin." The design 
of the law-makers evidently was to add to his punishment 
not only in this life, but, if possible, send him to eternal 
punishment after death. It is not in the province or power 
of the writers of this history to ascertain whether the Vir- 
ginia assembly ever succeeded in killing- a man and send- 
ing- him to hades because he had a countefeit dime in his 
pocket; but the probability is that the powers of the law- 
makers ceased when they had hang-ed their man, and a 
more just and righteous tribunal then took charge of his 
case. 

It is evident that the early Virginia law-makers laid great 
stress on the idea of clergy to attend the condemned man. 
If they wanted to inflict extreme punishment they put the 
finishing touches on it by denying the privilege of clergy. 
On November 27, 1789, an act w T as passed by the legisla- 
ture segregating crimes into two classes, one of which was 
designated as "clergyable," and the other as "unclergy- 
able." It was provided that the unclergyable crimes were 
murder in the first degree, burglary, arson, the burning 
of a court house or prison, the burning of a clerk's office, 
feloneously stealing from a church or meeting-house, rob- 
bing a house in presence of its occupants, breaking into 
and robbing a dwelling house by day, after having put its 
owner in fear. For all of these offenses the penalty was 
death. A provision was made in some cases for clergy; 
but, lest the convicted man's punishment might not there- 
by be too much lightened, it was stipulated that he must 
have his hand burned before he was hanged. The same law 
further provided that, although a man's crime might not 
be unclergyable, yet if he received the benefit of clergy, 

22 



AMONG OLD LAWS. 



305 



i and it was subsequently ascertained that he had formerly 
committed an unclergyable offense, he must then be put 
to death without further benefit of clergy. In this law it 
was expressly provided that there should be no mitig-ation 
of punishment in case of women. 

By an act of December 26, 1792, it was provided that the 
man who apprehended a runaway servant and put him in 
jail was to receive one dollar and forty-seven cents, and 

I mileage, to be paid by the owner. This law was, no doubt, 
intended to apply chiefly to slaves rather than to white 
servants. If the runaway remained two months in jail un- 
claimed, the sheriff must advertise him in the "Virginia 
Gazette," and after putting- an iron collar on his neck, 
marked with the letter "F," hire him out, and from his 
wages pay the costs. After one year, if still unclaimed, 
he was to be sold. The money, after the charges were 

' paid, was to be given to the former owner if he ever proved 
his claim, and if he did not do so, it belonged to the state. 

The law r -makers believed in discouraging g-ossip and tat- 
tling, as well as burning a condemned man in the hand 
prior to his execution. A law passed by the Virginia leg- 
islature, December 27, 1792, was in the following language: 
"Whereas, many idle and busy-headed people do forge a.nd 
divulge false rumors and reports, be it resolved by the gen- 
eral assembly, that what person or persons soe\ T er shall 
forge or divulge any such false report, tending to the 
trouble of the country, he shall be by the next justice of 
the peace sent for and bound over to the next county court, 
where, if he produce not his author, he shall be fined forty 
dollars, or less if the court sees fit to lessen it, and besides 

I give bond for his good behavior, if it appear to the court 
that he did maliciously publish or invent it." 

There was a studied effort on the part of the legislators 
to discourage hog stealing. It is not apparent why it should 
be a worse crime to steal a hog than to steal a cow t ; or why 
the purloining of a pig should outrank in criminality the 



306 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

taking of a calf; or why it should be a greater offense to 
appropriate a neighbor's shoat than his sheep. But the 
early law-makers in Virginia seem to have so considered, 
and they provided a law for the special benefit of the hog 
thief. This law, passed by the legislature December 8, 
1792, declared that "any person, not a slave, who shall steal 
a hog, shoat or pig," should receive thirty-five lashes on 
the bare back; or if he preferred to do so, he might escape 
the lashing by paying a fine of thirty dollars; but whether 
he paid the fine or submitted to the stripes, he still must 
pay eight dollars to the owner for each hog stolen by him. 
This much of the law is comparatively mild, but it was for 
the first offense only. As the thief advanced in crime the 
law's severity increased. For the second offense in hog- 
stealing- the law provided that the person convicted, if not 
a slave, should stand two hours in a pillory, on a public 
court day, at the court house, and have both ears nailed to 
the pillory, and at the end of two hours, should have his 
ears cut loose from the nails. It was expressly provided 
that no exception should be made in the case of women. If 
the hog thief still persisted in his unlawful business and 
transgressed the law a third time, he was effectually cured 
of his desire for other people's hogs by being put the death. 

The slave had a still more severe punishment for steal- 
ing hogs. For the first offense he received "thirty-nine 
lashes on the bare back, well laid on, at the public whip- 
ping post." For the second offense he was nailed by the 
ears to a post, and after two hours of torture, had his ears 
cut off. For the third offense he was put to death. The 
law provided that if a negro or Indian were put on the 
stand as a witness against a person accused of stealing 
hogs, and did not tell the truth, he should be whipped, 
nailed to a post, his ears cut, and if he still testified 
falsely, he paid the penalty with his life. After a hog had 
been stolen and killed, the relentless law still followed it to 
try to discover if some one else might not be punished. If 



AMONG OLD LAWS. 



307 



a. person bought, or received into his possession, a hog 
from which the ears had been removed, he was adjudged 
guilty of hog stealing, unless he could prove that the hog 
was his own property. There was also a law forbidding 
any one from purchasing pork of Indians, unless the ears 
went with the pork. There would be some inconvenience 
in retailing pork under this restriction, as it would require 
a skillful butcher to so cut up a hog that each nam,, 
shoulder, side and the sausage should retain the ears. 

There can be no question that hog raising was profita- 
ble in Hampshire under this law, and also before the law 
was enacted. Indeed, it is said that the name Hampshire 
was given the county because of its excellent hogs. Ac- 
cording to this story, Lord Fairfax was once in Y/inches- 
ter when a drove of very fine hogs passed along the street 
on their way to market. He asked where they came from, 
and upon being told that they were raised on the South 
branch of the Potomac, he remarked that when a new 
county should be formed in that part of the country it 
should be called Hampshire, after a place of that name in 
England which was famous for its fine hogs. 

If stealing hogs was a crime almost too heinous to be 
adequately punished in this world, horse stealing was so 
much worse that the law-makers of Virginia would not 
undertake to provide a law to reach the case. They, 
therefore, enacted a law, December 10, 1792, that the con- 
victed horse thief must be put to death; and, in order that 
he should certainly reach eternal punishment beyond 
death, he was forbidden to have spiritual advice. The 
language of the law is that- the horse thief shall be "utterly 
excluded." 

A law of unnecessary severity was passed December 22, 
1792, against negroes who should undertake to cure the 
sick. It is reasonable and right that the law should care- 
fully guard the people against harm from those who ignor- 
antly practice medicine; but to us of the present day it 



308 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



appears that a less savage law would have answered the 
purpose. It was provided that any negro who prepared, 
exhibited, or administered medicine should be put to 
death without benefit of clergy. It was provided, how- 
ever, that a negro might, with the knowledge and consent 
of his master, have medicine in his possession. 

The law of Virginia required every county to provide a 
court house, jail, pillory, whipping post, stocks and a 
ducking stool. But the ducking stool might be dispensed 
with, if the comity court saw fit to do so. The whipping 
post was the last of these relics of barbarism to be 
removed from Hampshire county. Many persons now 
living can remember when the whipping post stood in the 
rear of the old court house, a grim reminder of the severe 
laws gone by. It was a large post, octagon in shape, and 
had a roof over it. The culprit was tied by his wrists and 
drawn close against it, and the whip was applied. 

So far as can be ascertained from an examination of 
county records, mutilated and destnrved by time and war, 
the last public and legalized burning of a convicted man in 
Hampshire county occurred in July, 1823, in the old court 
house. A negro slave, named Simon, the property of 
David Collins, was tried on a charge of assault. The 
record does not show that he had a jury. The court found 
him guilty and ordered the sheriff to burn him on the hand 
and give him one hundred lashes, chain him, and keep him 
on "coarse and low diet." The minutes of the court state 
that the sheriff "immediately burned him in the hand in 
the presence of the court," and gave him then and there 
twenty-five lashes. The remaining seventy-five were 
reserved for future days. The judges who were present 
on that occasion were John McDonald, Christopher Heis- 
kell, Vause Fox, John Brady and W. C. Wodrow. The 
sheriff who executed the order of the court was Francis 
White, and the clerk was John B. White. 

It is but justice to the law-makers of Virginia, and the 



AMONG OLD LAWS. 



309 



people at that time, to state that nearly all of these severe 
laws came from England, or were enacted in the colony of 
Virginia many years before the Revolutionary war. Some 
of them date back to the time of Cromwell, or even earlier. 
Although the people of Virginia took the lead in the move- 
ment for greater liberty, both mental and physical, they 
could not, all at once, cut loose from the wrecks of past 
tyranny. They advanced rapidly along- some lines, but 
slowly along- others. They found those old laws on the 
statute books, and re-enacted them, and suffered them to 
exist for a g-eneration or more. But we should not believe 
that such men as Patrick Henry, Edmund Randolph, 
Thomas Jefferson, Georg-e Washing-ton, and the other 
statesmen and patriots of that time believed that a man 
should be nailed to a post for stealing- a pig", or that the 
crime of stealing- a hymn book from a church should be 
punished with death without benefit of clergy. 

A law passed near the close of the last century, and still 
in force in 1819, provided sheriff's fees on a number of 
items, among- which were the following: For making an 
arrest, sixty-three cents; for pillorying a criminal, fifty- 
two cents; for putting a criminal in the stocks, twenty-one 
cents; for ducking a criminal in pursuance of an order of 
court, forty-two cents; for putting a criminal in prison, 
forty-two cents; for hanging a criminal, live dollars and 
twenty-five cents; for whipping a servant, by order of 
court, to be paid by the master and repaid to him by the 
servant, forty-two cents; for whipping a free person, by 
order of court, to be paid by the person who received the 
whipping, forty-two cents; for whipping a slave, by order 
of the court, to be paid by the county, forty-two cents; for 
selling a servant at public outcry, forty-two cents; for keep- 
ing and providing for a debtor in jail, each day, twenty- 
one cents. 

It was more expensive to be whipped or pilloried by the 
sheriff than by a constable, although there is no evidence 



310 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 



that the sheriff did the work any more effectively. Since 
the person who received the punishment usually paid the 
fees of the officer who performed the service, it is proba- 
ble that such person preferred being- whipped or nailed to 
a post by the constable because it was less expensive. 
Some of the constable's fees are shown below: for putting: 
a condemned man in the stocks, twenty-one cents; for 
whipping- a servant, twenty-one cents; for whipping- a slave, 
to be paid by the master, twenty-one cents; for removing 1 
a person likety to become a charg-e on the count}^, per mile, 
four cents. 

It would appear from this that it was customary to send 
persons out of the county who were likely to become pau- 
pers; but, of course, the county to which they were sent 
must take charg-e of them, or send them on to the next 
county. Most likely the pauper was hustled on from 
county to county, it being" found cheaper to move him than 
to maintain him. Not much can be said in praise of a cus- 
tom which sent paupers to some one else to be cared for; 
but, at that time, indigents were not numerous. Although 
each county might claim and exercise the rig-ht of shoving 
its paupers into another county to be cared for, yet when 
it came into possession of an indigent in this manner from 
an adjoining county, it considered it hard luck. There is 
a letter preserved in the old county records giving an in- 
sight into the feelings of disgust with which one county 
court received a pauper from another. The letter contains 
a tine vein of sarcasm, and is worth quoting: 

" Winchester, County of Frederick, 

" State of Virginia, Aug. 4, 1794. 
" To the Honorable Court of Hampshire County. 
"State of Virginia, Gentlemen: C ~~! 

'•Greeting: — The court of Frederick beg leave to in- 
form the court of Hampshire that we have just received a 
visit from one Simon Pelman, a pauper, who informs us 
that he was sent to us by the court of Hampshire. The 



AMONG OLD LAWS. 



311 



court of Frederick beg leave to inquire to what may we at- 
tribute the honor of this visit from Mr". Pelman, late of 
your county? This court were not aware that they had 
merited the distinction of being- thus waited upon by 
your envoy extraordinary. But, notwithstanding- this 
court were taken by surprise, they find themselves in a 
position to return the honor by returning* Mr. Pelman to 
Hampshire, by the road which he came; with the sugges- 
tion that when it again shall please you to accredit to us an 
ambassador of Mr. Pelman's rank, you will so far observe 
the rules of diplomacy as to inform us of your purpose, 
that we may not again be taken by surprise, but may be 
prepared to meet your envoy on our frontiers and receive 
him in a manner becoming his rank and the dignit}- of the 
court which sent him. 

"Court of Frederick Couxty." 

Within the past centur} r several important changes have 
taken place in the laws under which Hampshire county has 
been governed. An act of assembly, passed November 
29, 1792, provided that in cases where a person is suspected 
of having committed a murder, and the coroner's jury 
recommend that he be held for trial, and he eludes arrest, 
the coroner must seize his house and property and hold 
them until he surrenders himself or is arrested. Where 
a defendant was found guilty the costs of the prosecution 
was collected by sale of his property, if he had any prop- 
erty; but he might pay cost and thus save his property. 
No constable, miller, surveyor of roads or hotel-keeper was 
eligible to serve on a grand jury. A law passed January 
16, 1801, provided a fine of five dollars as a penalty for kill- 
ing deer between January 1 and August 1 of each year. A 
law enacted January 26, 1814, provided that sheep-killing 
dogs should be killed. If the owner prevented the execu- 
tion of the law upon the dog he was subject to a fine of two 
dollars for each day in which he saved the life of the dog. 
The bounty on wolves was made six dollars for each scalp, 



312 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



by a law passed February 9, 1819. But the bounty was 
not always the same, nor was it uniform throug-hout the 
counties of Virginia. In 1828 George O. King- and Isaac 
Davidson were each paid twenty dollars for the scalps of 
two old wolves which they had killed in Hampshire county. 
There were six wolves killed in the county that year. A 
law of January 16, 1802, provided a fine of thirty dollars for 
setting the woods on fire; and a law of January 4, 1805, pun- 
ished by a fine of ten dollars the catching of fish in a seine 
between May 15 and August 15. 

There was a severe law passed by the Virginia legisla- 
ture February 22, 1819, for the benefit of tavern-keepers. 
It provided a fine of thirty dollars for each offense, to be 
levied against any person, not a licensed tavern-keeper, 
who should take pay from a traveler for entertainment 
given. Not only was this law in force in' and near towns, 
but also within eight hundred yards of any public road. 
There was a law enacted by the assembly of Virginia 
December 24, 1796, which was intended to favor the poor 
people. It is in marked contrast with many of the laws of 
that time, for they were generally not made to benefit the 
poor. The law had for its object the aiding of persons of 
small means in reaching justice through the courts. A 
man who had no money had it in his power to prosecute a 
suit against a rich man. He could select the court in which 
to have his case tried; the court furnished him an attorney 
free; he was charged nothing for his subpoenas and other 
writs; and he was not charged with costs in case he lost 
his suit. 



CHAPTER XXVI, 



AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS, 

BY H. L. SWISHER. 

In the settlement of a new country one of the first things 
that occupies the attention of a people is agriculture. 
More especially is this the case in a county like our own in 
which the chief source of wealth is in the agricultural 
products. Dangers and hardships attended every step of 
the early settler's progress. After his cabin was built it 
became necessary for him to supplement the supplies of 
game and fish he could capture, by the food products of 
his truck patch and cornfield. His implements for clear- 
ing and cutlivating the ground were rude and in the use of 
these he w T as often molested. When he went to the field 
he must carry with him his gun, as he labored he must 
keep constant watch lest some Indian in ambush shoot 
him at his work. Not infrequently was he compelled to 
throw down his hoe and seizing' his gun cover his own 
retreat to the nearest fort. 

Agriculture in the early settlements was not carried on 
extensively. A small patch of corn, and perhaps one of 
tobacco, together with a small garden or truck patch was 
the extent of each settler's farming-. Very often the only 
implement used in the cultivation of these primitive crops 
vv^as the hoe, as the keeping of a horse was difficult, owing 
to the thieving Indians. The first plows used were made 
entirely of wood and the addition of an iron plate to the 
lower end of his wooden implement gave rise to what was 
called the "shovel plow." Oxen and horses were both 
used by the early settlers in tilling their lands and if there 



314 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

was any favor shown it was to the ox, if we may call con- 
stant and persistent use showing- favor. The early har- 
row was even ruder than the early plow and sometimes it 
consisted in nothing- more than a thorn-bush slig-htly 
trimmed and weighted down by tying- some chunks across 
it. The first manufactured harrows had wooden frames 
and wooden teeth. The scythe, when indeed that im- 
proved implement came into use, was not made of carefully 
tempered steel as it now is, but was -wrought at the village 
smithy, and instead of being- ground to sharpen it, it was 
beat thin on an anvil. Nor was it supplied with a sneathe 
crooked like the one now in use, but had only a straig-ht 
stick which was usually cut from the nearby woods. In 
using- this the mower was compelled to bend himself like 
the bow of promise. Forked sapling's peeled and care- 
fully dried served to handle the hay and grain. Wooden 
spades and shovels were the only kind then in use. It is 
safe to say that if the present g-eneration could see the 
rude and clumsy tools with which, the early settlers had to 
raise and harvest their crops they would be filled with 
wonder and would look upon them as implements of tor- 
ture if they were compelled to use the same in agricul- 
tural pursuits today. We must not think, however, that 
our forefathers in this then wilderness had no enjoyment 
for they spent many a happy hour and their fewer wants 
and these easily satisfied, made them on the average as 
well content as their descendants. 

When clearing- land there were frequent "log rollings" 
at which the neig-hbors would gather for miles around 
bringing with them their teams of oxen and horses to 
assist in putting the logs in heaps to burn them. Usually 
Ihe "clearing" had been burned over previously to make 
way with the smaller brush and undergrowth. This left 
the remaining logs blackened and as the men worked 
among them they became sweaty and begrimed. The 
teams were no less so. All around rose the flames and 



AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS. 



315 



smoke of the burning- heaps while the sooty laborers 
toiled in the midst. It was such a scene as might easily 
be imagined, in the workshops of the mythical blacksmith 
Vulcan underneath V esuvius. Another gathering- in these 
early settlements was the "raising." When one man in a 
community wished to build a house or barn it was an 
expected courtesy upon the part of his neighbors to assist 
him until the heavier parts were in position. No pay was 
tendered nor expected for this help, but a like labor was, 
perhaps, afterwards asked of the one assisted. Another 
social and co-operative gathering of those times which has 
now been almost wholly abandoned is the corn husking*. 
The ears of corn were "jerked" husk and all from the 
stalks and hauled together in huge ricks. Some night 
when the weather was favorable, usually a moonlight night, 
the neighbors were all invited to the husking. A general 
overseer of the work was appointed and the men were 
arranged along the rick of corn at regular intervals. 
Then the work began. It was considered especially lucky 
to find a "red ear" and as the husks were torn off each one 
was carefully scrutinized to see if it was of the desired 
color. While the men were enjoying themselves at the 
husking the women of the neighborhood were usually 
assembled at the farm house at a "quilting." After a few 
hours' work the "quilting" and "husking" alike broke up 
in a dance or as it was popularly called a "hoe down." 
Sometimes there was a too liberal use of "rock and rye" 
and a few fights lent interest to the gathering. 

In those early times when it was necessary that almost 
everything used should be produced on the farm, or at 
least in the neighborhood, women added much to the com- 
fort of the home by their skill and industry. Almost 
every household was supplied with a loom, a spinning 
wheel and all else that was necessary for changing the 
wool or flax from its original condition into clothing and 
blankets. Wool was sheared from sheep raised on the 



316 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



farm. It was carded, spun and woven or knit into cloth- 
ing- on the place. The flax was grown in the fields, it was 
allowed to weather in the patches where it was raised, it 
was broken on the flax brake and the woody portion 
combed out on the hackle, spun and woven into cloth 
without leaving* the farm on which it was grown. 

Evidently the tobacco crop in Hampshire was once a 
much more important affair than it is now. As stated in 
another chapter, it formed the medium of exchang-e, serv- 
ing- as money until after the Revolutionary war. In March, 
1819, the g-eneral assembly passed an act providing- that 
"Public warehouses for the receipt of tobacco be estab- 
lished at Romney warehouse and Cresap's warehouse, at 
the confluence of North and South branches of the Potomac 
in Hampshire county." Before tobacco could be stored in 
these warehouses it was necessary that it be inspected. 
There was an inspector appointed for Romney. His salary 
was sixty-two dollars and fifty cents a vear. At Cresap's 
the inspector was paid at the rate of eig-hty-four cents a 
hog-she ad, of which seventeen cents were to be paid the 
proprietor of the warehouse for rent. There is no record 
to show how many hog*sheads or pounds were stored in 
any year. Another important crop that began to be culti- 
vated early in this county was wheat. In fact the soil here 
is so well adapted to the cultivation of this cereal that it has 
become the principal crop raised for shipment. In early 
years, however, it was cultivated on a much more limited 
scale. Numerous difficulties stood in the way of an exten- 
sive acreag*e. The sowing- was a matter of no small labor. 
The seed had to be scattered by hand and then covered by 
harrowing- or "shoveling-" it in. This was not only labori- 
ous, but also very slow. Harvesting-, too, was a tedious 
process, A sickle was then the most improved reaping* 
implement. The reaper g-athered a grip of grain in his 
left hand and cut it oil with the right. These handfuls 
were placed in bundles and bound into sheaves. When it 



AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS. 



317 



came time to haul the crop in from the fields this was done 
on sleds, as wagons were then not in g-eneral use. Thresh- 
ing- the crop was next. This was accomplished by means 
of the flail, and it required an expert hand to flail out fifteen 
bushels a day. Another mode of threshing- somewhat in 
advance of the flail and less laborious, was to place the 
grain on a barn floor and tramp it out with horses. There 
was a chance here to use the small boy, ever such a con- 
venience about a farm. He could ride one horse and lead 
another around over the grain. When it was well tramped 
it was turned and g-one over again until at length most of 
the grain was threshed out. The next step in advance 
was a threshing machine, known as a chaff -piler. This 
was probably introduced in this country as early as 1835. 
It was a small affair and very incomplete, not separating 
the chaff from the wheat. The first "separators" were 
horse-power machines and came into use about a half cen- 
tury ago. The last advance was the steam thresher, and 
now the greater part of the grain in the country is threshed 
by these machines. No such thing as a windmill was 
known here before the present century, and the early 
method of separating the chaff and grain was to toss the 
mass into the air and the chaff, being lighter, would be 
blown away, while the wheat would fall to the ground on a 
sheet or floor prepared to receive it. 

After the crop was raised it had yet to be prepared for 
food. The matter of making meal and flour like the other 
mechanic arts, was in the pioneer days, rude and incom- 
plete. Corn was the chief crop raised by the early settlers 
and the matter of its preparation for table use was of first 
importance. The hominy block was one of the earliest 
contrivances. A large block was hollowed out at one end 
by burning. The top of the opening in the block's end 
was large, but it narrowed at the bottom so as to form a 
funnel-shaped cavity. The corn was placed in this block, 
and by means of a wooden pestle it was pounded into a 



318 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



more or less fine condition, so that it served parti} 7 for 
johnny-cake and bread, while the coarser was cooked as 
hominy. While the corn was soft it was sometimes pre- 
pared for bread by means of a grater. This consisted of 
a piece of tin punched full of holes and bent into concave 
shape by nailing- its sides to a piece of wood.. The ears of 
corn were rubbed on the rough surface of the tin and a 
kind of meal was thus made. The sweep for pounding 
grain is thus described by Dr. Doddridge: "This was a 
pole of some springy, elastic wood thirty feet long or more, 
the butt end of which was placed under the side of a house 
or a large stump. This pole was supported by two forks 
placed about one-third of its length from its butt end, so 
as to elevate the small end about fifteen feet from the 
ground. To this was attached, by a large mortise, a piece 
of sapling about five or six inches in diameter and eight or 
ten feet long, the lower end of which was shaped so as to 
answer for a pestle, and a pin of wood was put through at 
the proper height, so that two people could work at the 
sweep at once." A little more improved was the hand- 
mill which came into use somewhat later. This was con- 
structed of two circular stones, one running on to the 
other. The nether of these was called the bed stone and 
was stationary. The upper one was called the runner; 
around these was a wooden hoop with an opening for dis- 
charging the meal. In the upper surface of the runner 
there was a hole near the edge into which the end of a pole 
was fitted. The other end of this pole was put through a 
hole in a board fastened to the joist above. With one hand 
grasping the upright pole the operator turned the stone 
and with the other he put the grain into the central open- 
ing in the runner. The grinding of one bushel of grain 
was considered a day's work. 

The first water mills were designated tub mills. In this 
the upper- stone was stationary and the lower one turning 
against it ground the grain. A perpendicular shaft was 



AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS. 



319 



fitted into the lower stone or runner. On the lower end of 
this shaft there was a water wheel about five feet in diam- 
eter. The wheel was sunk in the stream and the force 
of the running- water caused it to revolve, turning- the 
stone at the other end of the shaft. Following- these came 
the grist mills, with a water wheel having- a horizontal 
shaft. j_In these early mills bolting- cloths were not used. 
Selves were used, but not the ordinary wire seive of today. 
At that time they were made by stretching- deerskin tightly 
over a hoop and punching- it full of holes with a hot wire. 
Ever since Hampshire became even sparsely settled it 
seems the inhabitants have had a surplus of wheat, and it 
has furnished them a means of obtaining* ready money. 
In the early days after the revolution the matter of trans- 
portation was a serious hindrance to commerce. Goods 
had to be hauled from the cities in wag-on s, and the pro- 
ducts of the farm had to be taken to market in a like man- 
ner, at least in most instances. 

Hampshire had an important advantag-e in this particu- 
lar. Throug-li the most fertile and productive valley of the 
county ran the South branch river. By means of boats 
this river was made to perform an important service. Had 
a person chanced to pass up the South branch in those 
days, at the various eddies and places of easy access, as 
far up as Moorefield, he would have seen scores of barrels 
of flour sitting-. When the river began to rise boatmen 
would come and build boats, load the flour upon them and 
float away with it to market. There were no particular 
depots or places for storing the flour, but it was placed on 
the river bank at such points as it could be easily loaded. 
' Flour merchants would hire boatmen to build boats to 
take this flour to market. T}ie boats used were usually 
mere flat structures, built temporarily for the purpose of 
transporting this flour and sold for lumber when their des- 
tination was reached. There were, however, keel boats 
of more expensive and graceful build, that were pushed 



320 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



back up the river by the boatmen when they had delivered 
their cargo. This traffic ceased about 1830. Two of the 
men who used to make these boating- trips, James Lari- 
more and Samuel Larimore, lived on Jersey mountain, near 
Three Churches. They, tog-ether with Captain Jake 
Earsom, another of their number, are well remembered by 
persons now living. Alexandria and Washing-ton w y ere the 
principal markets for this flotuvj Some fourteen miles 
above Washing-ton the Potomac plunges over a precipice 
some sixty feet in heig'ht. To get around this a canal was 
built. It was about a half mile in length and deep enough 
to float heavily loaded boats. The walls of this historic 
canal, the first in America, are still standing and are fre- 
quently visited by those interested in the early industrial 
history of this country. v 

Much of the drudgery of farming has been removed by 
the introduction of farm machinery. It is no exaggera- 
tion to say that one man can with the improved machinery 
of today, accomplish 'as|much as five men could with the 
implements in use at the beginning of this century. Im- 
provements in farm machinery came slowly, but the pro- 
gress already made is very great, and there is unquestion- 
ably still a large field for improved inventions in agricul- 
tural implements. One of the first improvements of im- 
portance was the grain drill, and while the first invention 
was a rude machine, it was an immense step forward from 
the shovel plow. The "old blue drill," as it was called, 
was in use in this county as early as 1850. Windmills 
came in somewhat earlier, perhaps as soon as 1810. Pre- 
vious to their appearance grain had been cleaned by means 
of a sheet. Qne man taking hold of each end, the sheet 
was swung to and fro, creating- a current of air by this 
motion. A third person tossed the wheat into the air or 
stood upon an elevated placed and poured in from a vessel. 
While this was a slow process it was more satisfactory 
than one would at first suppose. The first windmills had 

33 



I 



AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS. 



321 



wooden cogwheels and were kept oiled by means of soft 
soap. The iron cog-wheels came in about 1840. Reaping 
machinery was introduced along- the South branch valley 
several years before the civil war. The reapers were 
what were then known as "droppers." They did not bind 
the grain in sheaves, but threw it off in bunches, and it 
was afterwards tied by hand. About 1870 the binder came 
into use, and these machines, now hig-hly improved, are in 
g-eneral use throughout the county. The mower and hay- 
rake are two inventions that have added much to the ease 
of caring for the hay crop. These machines in their 
present improved form have not been in popular use more 
than a quarter of a century. The first rake for gathering 
hay by means of horse power was almost entirely of wood. 
It was without wheels and slid upon the ground much after 
the manner of a sled. Occasionally one of these old rakes 
is still used. 

It was not long after land had been farmed and its best 
grain growing elements extracted until the need of fertil- 
izers was felt. Among the earliest fertilizers used in this 
county were lime and ground gypsum or plaster. These 
enriched the soil to a certain degree, but there was a desire 
for something that would have a more immediate effect. 
Something that would have a direct effect on the crop on 
which it was sown. This led to the use of manufactured 
fertilizers. ;As early as 1852 Philip B* Streit and Rev. 
John M. Harris were using Peruvian guano on their farms 
on Jersey mountain. This guano was put up in Rich- 
mond, Virginia, and proved a very excellent stimulus to 
crops. The acid fertilizers so widely used on our fields 
today have not been generally used for more than twenty 
years. When first placed upon the market these fertil- 
izers sold at from thirty to forty dollars a ton. 

In the days of early settlements the matter of soil was 
of little importance. The pioneer cleared his field and 
farmed it until the growing qualities of the soil were 



322 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

exhausted. But all around him was wooded lands w r hose 
soil had never felt the plow, and for the clearing- these 
became his fields. When the country became more 
thickly settled there was a limit to the acreage of each 
man. Then the preserving- of soils and the reclaiming- of 
those already barren, became a matter of interest. There 
is, perhaps, no more important matter confronts the far- 
mer today than the proper care for his newer soils and 
the reclaiming- of now barren tracts. The soil upon our 
hills and valleys is the accummulation of untold g-eolog-ical 
ag-es and its wasteful destruction should not be permitted. 
When once destroyed it can only be replaced, if at all, by 
years of careful agriculture and unmeasured work. 

Hampshire county has for years been noted as a stock 
raising- center and is even supposed to have been named 
after Hampshire in England because the two districts, 
very much alike in the production of fine hog's. {As long- 
ago as 1750 droves of hog's were driven from the South 
branch valley to Winchester to market. Cattle were 
raised and marketed within a few years after this dateu 
Improved stock have been introduced from time to time and 
the county yet has many advantag-es as a stock raising- 
district, though from being- more thickly populated there 
is less range than in the early days of its settlement. 
Man's progress upwards has been larg-ely due to his sub- 
jugation of other animals and of plants. The friends he has 
won have made their own bondag-e more complete by the 
added strength they have given their captor. So long as 
man was content with the meager supplies of flesh he 
could capture from the forest, and, so long* as he depended 
upon the uncultivated hills and valley to furnish him 
grains and fruits, his advancement was slow. To his lack 
of ability to domesticate we may ascribe the backward 
condition of the American Indian when discovered by the 
whites. He had no domestic animals, as the horse, cow or 
hog-; his domestication of plants had been limited to corn 



AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS. 



323 



and tobacco, while of tame fowls he had none. The Aryan 
race are the great domesticators of the earth. The white 
man has his scores of friendly animals and plants to help 
him in the struggle for existence. He rang-es his stock 
and tills his fields and plants his orchards. Probably the 
last phase of agriculture to receive attention in this 
county was the growing- of fruits. Many can yet remem- 
ber the puny orchards that surrounded the early settler's 
cabin, or the chance scrubby tree that stood in the com- 
mons like a ragged vagrant asking- for sustenance. Apples 
were apparently the first fruit cultivated and there are 
standing- today many trees a half century old. Peaches 
were next, but chiefly seedling varieties, until 1875, when 
budded fruit began to be planted as an experiment. 
There are at present some extensive peach farms in 
Hampshire. Those of Harry Miller, near Bethel church, 
on Little Capon, and then controlled by a stock company, 
near Romney, are the most extensive. Pears, plums, 
cherries and quinces have all been cultivated with varying- 
degrees of success for the last half century, but no one 
has planted extensively of these fruits. The soils of the 
county seem well adapted to the growing of nearly all 
fruits that can be raised in the temperate zones. A con- 
siderable development of this line of agriculture may be 
looked for in the future. 

'The West Virginia Fish Commission -An 
act was passed February 20, 1877, creating- this commis- 
sion for the purpose of encouraging* the culture of fish and 
the stocking- the streams of the state. The first commis- 
sioners were, Major John W. Harris of Greenbrier, Hon. 
Henry B. Miller of Wheeling-, and Captain C. S. White of 
•Hampshire. These were appointed June 1, 1877, for a 
period of four years. The commission organized July 17, 
1877, by electing- Major Harris president, Captain White 
secretary, and H. B. Miller treasurer. In the summer of 
1877 Captain White purchased of Charles Harmison the 



324 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Magulre Springs near Romney, and erected and equipped 
a hatchery at a cost of seven hundred dollars. The com- 
mission also purchased the Maguire Springs, including 
one-fourth acre of land for five hundred and fifty dollars. 
In 1879 Major Harris resigned and N. M. Lowry was ap- 
pointed m his stead. H. B. Miller was then elected presi- 
dent. In 1880 the g-rounds were greatly improved. New 
ponds were constructed and the grounds about the 
hatchery enclosed by a tight seven foot fence. A house 
for the manager of the hatchery to use as a dwelling was 
built in 1885. In June of 1885, Hon. L. J. Baxter of Brax- 
ton county, was appointed commissioner, succeeding Mr. 
Miller. C. S. White was made president. In June of the 
next year M. A. Manning of Summers county, was ap- 
pointed commissioner, vice N. M. Lowry, removed from 
the state. Mr. Manning removed from the state the next 
year, and Hon. James H. Miller was appointed in his stead. 
This year the ponds were much enlarged. In 1889 N. C. 
Prickett, Esq., of Jackson county, was appointed in place 
of J. H. Miller. ■ In the year 1891 a new hatching house 
was built and equipped, an addition was made to the dwel- 
ling. The ponds were also repaired and enlarged. The 
following persons have been managers at the hatchery. 
From June, 1878, to May. 1880, Z. N. Graham; from Octo- 
ber, 1880, to January, 1881, R. G. Ferguson; from January, 
1881, to August, 1881, W. H. Maloney; from July, 1883, to 
February, 1886, William Montgomery; from April, 1886, 
to April, 1895, F. P. Barnes. Before Z. N. Graham was 
appointed manager, and during other intervals, when there 
was no manager, Commissioner White served in that 
capacity. 

In the year 1877 and for some years thereafter it was. 
confidently believed by United States Commissioner Baird 
and all leading fish culturists that the California salmon, a 
fish of fine quality, could be successfully introduced into 
our streams, and at his request the first and most expen- 



AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS. 325 



sive efforts of the West Virginia commission were made 
by hatching- and depositing- in adjacent streams large num- 
bers of this fish. This hatching- was successfully accom- 
plished by Captain White in charcoal troug-hs of his own 
desig-n and manufacture. The salmon did well in the 
South branch and Potomac and went to the sea. Numbers 
of them were caug-ht all the way from Romney to Wash- 
ing-ton. Hig-h hopes were entertained that this experi- 
ment would prove a success, but to the surprise of all in- 
terested in fish culture, the salmon never returned to our 
streams to spawn nor to any other stream entering- the 
Atlantic ocean, although they invariably return to streams 
entering the Pacific. It will be interesting to give some 
figures showing the work done by the commission. In the 
years 1877-78 about 675,000 salmon, 100,000 trout, 1,200 
black bass, most of them large enough to spawn, were dis- 
tributed. In the years 1879-80 there were distributed 
360,000 salmon, 165,000 shad, 600 carp, 2,000 gray bass and 
1,400 native fish (black bass, pike, perch, jack and blue 
-catfish), together with large numbers of mill-pond roach, 
as food for the bass. In 1881 and 18S2 the commission put 
out 18,500 land-locked salmon, 7,000 trout, 2,000 carp, 600 
black bass, 125 silver perch, 25 pike perch. 

The appropriations since that time ($500 a year) have 
been so meagre that the work of the commission has been 
devoted almost entirely to the raising of carp and native 
fish, and food fish for the bass. The streams of the state 
are now pretty thoroughly stocked with these fish. New 
river, Gauley and Greenbrier rivers, with their tributa- 
ries, have been supplied with black bass until now they 
contain great numbers of these fish. Many depleted trout 
streams have been restocked and many streams have been 
supplied with small food fish for the bass. In 1893 the 
legislature failed to make any appropriation for the com- 
mission nor have succeeding legislatures done anything. 
All that is now done by the commission is to care for the 



326 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



state houses and ponds and furnish carp as they are 
called for. 

Farmers' Alliance. — The only organization of agri- 
cultural people in this county that has met with success is 
the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union. In 
the spring- of 1889 W. B. Parham was commissioned by 
Colonel Barbee of Virginia, to come to Hampshire county 
and lecture at the same time, perfecting- local organizations 
of the Alliance. Mr. Parham accordingly labored here in 
the spring- and summer of 1889, meeting- with considerable 
success and bringing- into life many sub-divisions of the 
organization. In answer to a call these local sub-divisions 
of the Alliance sent delegates to Romney Tuesday, July 
23, 1889, at which time the county Alliance was organized. 
There is a store at Romney which is under the control of 
the Alliance. Shares are issued to members of the organ- 
ization only, and a board of directors have the management 
of the enterprise. The present officers of the Alliance in* 
this county are, Dr. J. W. Shull, president; David Fox, 
vice-president; John Breinig, secretary; Geo. M. Haines, 
chaplain; L. H. L. Henderson, lecturer; Joseph H. Clem, 
assistant lecturer. 



/ 

CHAPTER XXVII, 



«o» 

REMINISCENCES OF WASHINGTON. 

BY HU MAXWELL. 

Allusion has been made in other chapters of this book to 
the fact that George Washington earned on the the South 
branch his first money, which became the foundation of 
his fortune. It is not amiss to enter more fully into de- 
tails of the great man's visits to Hampshire, when he was 
a mere youth, and before he had won the justly-deserved 
fame of after years. 

"His greatness he derived from heaven alone, 
For he was great ere fortune made him so; 
And wars, like mists which rise ag'ainst the sun, 
Made him but greater seem, not greater grow." 

It is the purpose in this chapter to give extracts from 
Washington's diary and letters, referring to the South 
branch and neighboring country. Early in the spring of 
1748 he made the acquaintance of Lord Fairfax, who had 
but lately arrived from England to take possession of his 
vast estate in Virginia. He sent Washington, who was 
just past sixteen years of ag-e, to examine and survey the 
lands. George William Fairfax accompanied him. On 
March 18, l948, Washington entered in his journal: 
"Thomas Beckwith's on the Potomac. We agreed to stay 
till Monday. We this day called to see the famed warm 
springs, and camped in the field all night. " These springs 
^are at Bath, in Morgan county. There was high water at 
that time, and the party did not venture to cross the river, 
but on March 20, Washington writes: "Finding the river 
not much abated, we, in the evening, swam our horses over 



328 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



to the Maryland side." March 21, ''Traveled up the 
Maryland side all day in a continual rain, to Colonel Cre- 
sap's, over against the mouth of the South branch." March 
25. "Left Cresap's and went up to the mouth of Patter- 
son's creek. There we swam our horses over the Potomac 
and went over ourselves in a canoe and traveled fifteen 
miles, where we camped." March 26, "Traveled up to 
Solomon Hedges', one of his majesty's justices of the peace 
in the county of Frederick, where we camped." The next 
day the party reached the South branch, and on March 28, 
this entry was made: "Traveled up the South branch 
about thirty miles to Mr. J. R.'s (horse jockey), and about 
seventy miles from the mouth of the river." It is proba- 
ble that Washington overestimated the distance from the 
mouth of the river by about ten miles. It is not likely that 
the distance had been measured at that time. On March 
30 he wrote: " Began our intended business of laying- off 
lots." On April 4 he made an entry showing the kind of 
people who then lived there, and who were all squatters on 
the lands of Lord Fairfax, or at least on land claimed by 
him; but some of them considered the land as their own, 
and in after years suits were broug-ht to quiet the title, 
some of the suits remaining on the court dockets unde- 
cided for a generation. On April 4 he writes: "We were 
attended with a great company of people, men, women and 
children, who followed us through the woods, showing 
their antic tricks. They seem to be as ignorant a set of 
people as the Indians. They would never speak English, 
but when spoken to they all spoke Dutch." 

To judge from this, the country must have had a consid- 
erable population at that time, and this population was 
largely German. It is also interesting to note that many 
localities then had the names by which they are still known, 
such as Patterson's creek, the Trough and South branch 
Many years after that this river is given the Indian name, 
Wappacomo, in deeds and other public records, and one 



REMINISCENCES OF WASHINGTON. 329 



might be led to suppose it had no other name; but the 
journal of Washing-ton shows that in 1748 it was called 
South branch, the same as now. While surveying- in the 
vicinity of Moorefield Washington boarded at Mr. Van 
Meter's, a relative of an influential family of the same 
name which has ever since been identified with the inter- 
ests of Hardy and Hampshire counties. It appears that, 
although Washing-ton made his headquarters at Van Me- 
ter's he slept in a camp; for, on April 7, he records that he 
slept at the house of a man named Casey, and says it "was 
the first night I had slept in a house since coming to the 
branch." On April 8 Washington wrote in his journal: "We 
breakfasted at Casey's, and rode down to Van Meter's to 
get a company together, which when we had accomplished, 
we rode down below the Trough to lay off lots there. The 
Trough is a couple of mountains, impassable, running side 
by side for seven or eight miles, and the river between, 
them. You must ride round the mountains to get below 
them." The surveying below the Trough was completed 
in a couple of days, and on April 10 Washington wrote: 
"We took our farewell of the branch and traveled over hills 
and mountains to Coddy's, on the Great Cacapehon, about 
forty miles." This Coddy was none other than Caudy, a 
well-known pioneer who was a noted Indian fighter in after 
years, and from whom Caudy 's Castle was named, It is 
interesting to note how Washington spelled Capon. He 
was not a very accurate speller, but usually spelled words, 
as they were pronounced, and it is tolerably conclusive evi- 
dence that Capon was then pronounced as Washington 
spelled it. For the various spellings of the w r ord, the 
reader is referred to the chapter in this book on early 
' lands and land owners. From Capon, Washington and 
Fairfax proceeded home, and closed their business in 
Hampshire for that time. The report to Lord Fairfax 
proved satisfactory, and Washington was appointed public 
surveyor. That office was then somewhat different from 



330 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



what it is now. Fairfax owned all the land, or at least had 
a perpetual lien on all of it, and there was no "public," so 
far as a surveyor's duties extended. 

Tradition has long maintained, and many people believe 
it, that the bottom lands of the South branch in Hampshire 
county, both above and below Romney, were laid off into 
lots by Georg-e Washing-ton. Such, however, was not the 
case. This part of the county was surveyed prior to Oc- 
tober 19, 1749, by James Genn, in the employ of Lord Fair- 
fax. It was originally the purpose of Fairfax to retain the 
level land along- the South branch and the adjacent hills, 
as a manor; but he changed his mind and offered the land 
for sale. 

In the fall of 1753 Washing-ton passed through Hamp- 
shire, on his way to the upper tributaries of the Ohio, on 
his mission from the governor of Virg-inia to the French 
in that country. The next year he was in the county 
again, on his way with troops to build a fort where Pitts- 
burg now stands. In 1755 he passed through the county 
again, accompanied by General Braddock, on the ill fated 
expedition which met disaster on the bank of the Monon- 
gahela. The road by which this army marched is yet to 
be seen in some parts of Hampshire county. It passed 
through Spring gap, and crossing the Potomac near the 
mouth of Little Capon proceeded to Cumberland on the 
Maryland side of the river. After Braddock's defeat the 
Indians became troublesome along the frontier. On 
October 11, 1755, Washington wrote from Winchester to 
the governor of Virginia saying: "The men I hired to 
bring intelligence from the South branch returned last 
night with letters from Captain Ashby, and other parties 
there. The Indians are gone off." This refers to an 
Indian incurson a short time before. "It is believed their 
numbers amounted to about one hundred and fifty, that 
seventy-one men are killed and missing, and several houses 
and plantations destroyed. I shall proceed by quick 



REMINISCENCES OF WASHINGTON. 331 



marches to Fort Cumberland in order strengthen the gar- 
rison. Besides these, I think it absolutely essential to 
have two or three companies of rangers to guard the Poto- 
mac waters. Captain Waggoner informed me that it was 
with difficulty he passed the Blue Ridge for crowds of people 
who were flying as if every moment was death. He 
endeavored, but in vain, to stop them, they firmly believ- 
ing that Winchester was in flames." I It can thus be seen 
that the Indian warfare must have been savage when 
seventy-one men on the border, perhaps nearer all of them 
in Hampshire county, were killed in a few days. On 
November 18, 1755, Washington wrote: "I think, could a 
brisk officer and two or three sergeants be sent among 
the militia stationed on the South branch, they would have 
probable chance of engaging many, as some were inclined 
to enlist at Winchester." On April 7, 1756, Washington 
wrote: "Mr. Paris, who commanded a party, is returned. 
He relates that upon the North river he fell in with a small 
party of Indians whom he eng-aged, and after a contest of 
half an hour, put them to flight." Washing-ton states that 
he had just sent an officer and twenty men to reinforce 
Edwards' fort on Capon. Again on April 22, 1756, Wash- 
ington wrote to the governor of Virginia: "Your honor 
may see to what unhappy straits the inhabitants and my- 
self are reduced. I see inevitable destruction in so clear a 
light that, unless vigorous measures are taken by the 
assembly, and speedy assistance sent from below, the 
poor inhabitants that are now in fort, must unavoidably 
fall, while the remainder are flying before the barbarous 
foe. Ashby's letter is a very extraordinary one. The 
design of the Indians was only, in my opinion, to intimi- 
date him into a surrender; for which reason I have written 
him word that, if they do attack him, he must defend the 
place to the last extremity, and when bereft of hope, to 
lay a train to blow up the fort, and retire by night to Fort 
Cumberland." 



332 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



The Captain Ashb}^ named in Washing-ton's letter was 
John Ashby, grandfather of General Turner Ashby and of 
Captain Richard Ashby, both of Hampshire county and 
both killed while serving- in the confederate army. In 
Washing-ton's letter of April 22, 1756, he speaks of a fight 
on Patterson's creek: k 'A small fort which we have at the 
mouth of Patterson's creek, containing- an officer and 
thirty men guarding stores, was attacked by the French 
and Indians. They were as warmly received, upon which 
they retired." Two days later he wrote another letter 
from Winchester in which he said: "The inhabitants are 
removing- daily, and in a short time will leave this county 
as desolate as Hampshire, where scarce a family lives. 
Colonel Martin has just sent me a letter from Fort Hope- 
well on the South branch. They have had an eng-ag-ement 
there with the French and Indians. The waters were so 
hig-h that, althoug-h Captain Wag-g-oner heard them 
eng-aged, he could send them no assistance. You may 
expect, by the time this comes to hand, that, without a 
considerable reinforcement, Frederick county w r ill not be 
mistress of fifteen families. They are now retreating to- 
the securest parts in droves of fifties. Fort Cumberland 
is no more use for defense of the place than Fort George 
at Hampton. At this time there is not an inhabitant living- 
between this place and Fort Cumberland except in few 
settlements upon the manor around a fort we built there, 
and a few families at Edwards' fort on Cacapehon river, 
w T ith a guard of ours, which makes this town (Winches- 
ter) at present the uttermost frontier." 

This is a gloomy picture of Hampshire as it existed in 

the darkest hour of the French and Indian war. When 
Washington drew that picture he did it with all the facts 
before him. Only two small clusters of families between 
Winchester and Cumberland! One of these were seeking 
protection at Fort Edward on Capon, the others at Pear- 
sail's fort, which stood on the bluff overlooking the present 



REMINISCENCES OF WASHINGTON. 333 

bridge across the South branch, about half mile south of 
Romney. It is no wonder there is a blank place in the 
court records of Hampshire county from June 11, 1755, till 
1757. Nobody was left in the county to hold court. It is 
interesting- to learn from this letter of Washing-ton that he 
built the old fort which stood almost on the site of the 
present town ot Romney. 

In 1770, on October 9, Washington visited Romney and 
remained over nig-ht in the town, the next day proceeding- 
upon his journey to the west to look at larg-e tracts of lands 
on the Monongahela and Kanawha rivers. The house in 
which, he spent the nig-ht stood on lot number ninety-six, 
at present owned by S. L. Flournoy of Charleston, West 
Virg-inia. 



CHAPTER XXVIII, 



«o» 

INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 

by.hu maxwell. 
Elsewhere in this volume will be found chapters dealing 
with Indian wars in general, as they affected the state. 
The present chapter will be devoted to depredations which 
took place within the limits of Hampshire county, or near 
its borders. No tribe of Indians occupied and claimed this 
part of West Virginia when it first became known to white 
people; but large and small parties of the aborigines fre~ 
quently occupied it temporarily, and no doubt sometimes 
remained for a considerable time. Indians from Pennsyl- 
vania on the north, North Carolina on the south and Ohio 
on the west often hunted along - the South branch and over 
the neighboring mountains, and also in the valley of Vir- 
ginia. And in time of war Indians from these same locali- 
ties made incursions into Hampshire and adjacent sections, 
often murdering many people. These war parties usually 
came from Ohio and western Pennsylvania. A complete 
record of their murders does not exist, but a conservative 
estimate of the number of persons killed by the savages in 
Hampshire county from 1754 to 1765 would reach one hun- 
dred, and in addition to these, many were carried into cap- 
tivity and never returned. There is no lack of evidence 
that the valley of the South branch was once the. home of 
Indians. Their numerous graves attest this fact. Flint 
arrowheads in abundance were formerly found, usually on 
ridges overlooking the valley, and in the vicinity of springs 
where villages were probably located. Excavatioits in the 
graves a century ago. occasionally revealed bones or entire 



INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 335 

skeletons in a tolerable state of preservation. This was 
proof that no great time had passed since occupants of the 
graves had been laid to their final rest. Under favorable 
circumstances a skeleton may lie in a grave one hundred 
years, or probably longer, without total deca} r . There are 
accounts of skeletons and bones of giants dug- from some 
of these graves, but these stories should be accepted with 
caution. That there have been giants in the world is well 
known, but authentic history recprds no race of giants. 
Individual Indians may have been abnormally large, the 
same as individuals of other nations, but doubts may well 
be entertained whether so many of them existed in the 
vicinity of the Potomac as old stories relate. It is said that 
a jawbone was plowed up near Moorefield which would 
pass over the outside of a common man's lower jaw; that 
it contained eight jaw teeth on either side, and that they 
sat transversely in their sockets. A bone of that size would 
have belonged to a man eight or nine feet high. That there 
were eight jawteeth on either side may safely be set down 
as a mistake. Another jawbone of enormous size is record- 
ed as having been discovered near Martinsburg. The 
•skeleton of a giant is said to have been dug up near the 
Shannondale springs. On Flint run, in Shenandoah county, 
the thigh bone of a giant is among the discoveries claimed. 
It was three feet long. This would indicate that the 
owner, in life, was fully nine feet high. The catalogue of 
large bones might be continued almost indefinitely, but 
they do not deserve a place in history because of the ele- 
ment of exaggeration attending their description. 

It is claimed, and is probable, that the occupants of the 
South branch and surrounding- country were exterminated 
or driven off by other Indians about the time of the earliest 
settlements by Europeans in Virginia. A date more 
definite cannot be given, because no man knows. The 
sole evidence is tradition supplemented by a study of the 
ruins found on the sites of former villages, their decay, 



336 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

and the probable length of time which has passed since 
they ceased to be occupied. There was a tradition widely 
believed among- the early settlers that a fierce battle was 
once fought at Hanging- Rocks, on the South branch, a few 
miles north of Romney, between Delaware and Catawba 
Indians. According- to this tradition, the Delawares had 
invaded the Catawba country, in the vicinity of western 
Carolina, captured a number of prisoners and retreated 
northward with them. * When they reached Hanging 
Rocks, they stopped to catch fish. At this place a narrow 
strip of land is enclosed between the river and the cliff. 
The pursuing- Catawbas came up unobserved, threw a 
detachment across the river, another in front of the Dela- 
wares, then advancing, made the attack from three sides, 
killing- all or nearly all of the Delawares. A row of graves 
extending sixty yards or more, on the bank of the river, 
was early pointed out as confirmatory evidence of the 
slaughter of the Delawares. The tradition is given for 
what it is worth, but the reader is cautioned that the evi- 
dence of such a battle at Hanging Rocks is very unsatis- 
factory. The fact that there are graves at that place is 
about the strongest evidence, and that, in itself, is of little 
value. It is stronger evidence that an Indian village was 
somewhere near, and that this was the grave yard. That 
the evidence was unsatisfactoiw to the early inhabitants is 
proved by the fact that the battle field was located at two 
other places, one on the Opequon, several miles northeast 
of Winchester, and the other on Antietam creek, in Mary- 
land. There was evidently a tradition of such a battle 
somewhere, and the earliest inhabitants began to hunt a 
suitable location for it. Without question, the Hanging 
Rocks would have been an admirable field for such a 
battle. 

There is evidence, if not positive proof, that there w T as 
an Indian town two miles below Hanging- Rocks. Of this 
Kercheval says, writing* early in the present century: 

24 



INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 



337 



< 'About two miles below Hanging- Rocks, in the bank of the 
river, a stratum of ashes, about one rod in length, was 
some years ago discovered. At this place are signs of an 
Indian village and their old fields." The most permanent 
remains of Indian towns are the beds of ashes left by their 
fires. Their frail wigwams fall to pieces in a short time, 
but the ashes remain for ages, covered with a greater or 
smaller accumulation of soil, depending upon the length of 
time and the surrounding- conditions. The "Indian Old 
Fields," in Hardy county, so called to this day, are without 
doubt the site of an Indian settlement. When the country 
was first explored by white men these fields were bare of 
trees, evidently having long been under cultivation. The 
Indians who occupied the South branch, as well as those 
who lived in the valley of Virginia, probably of the same 
tribe, were farmers as well as hunters, as is shown by the 
extent of their old plantations. That portion of the valley 
of Virg-inia lying between the Blue Ridge and Little North 
mountain, about twenty-five miles wide and fort3Mave long, 
was nearly all cleared of timber when first visited by white 
men. Agricultural Indians had no doubt lived there for 
ages. 

In all parts of Hampshire county, but especially on the 
bluffs overlooking South branch valley, Indian arrowheads 
have been picked up since the country was first occupied 
by civilized man. These flints formed the tips of their 
arrows, both for the chase and in war. The notion that' 
the Indians were accustomed to dip their arrows in rattle- 
snake poison, to make them more deadly, is erroneous. 
They did so at times, but it was not the usual practice. It 
is believed that the a int from which they made their arrow- 
heads was carried from Ohio. It is not found in this part 
of the country; but in Ohio old quarries have been discov- 
ered which seem to have been worked from time out of 
mind. The flint bears evidence of having been blasted by 
means of fire, being broken into fragments by heat. 



338 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



When the French and Indian war broke out, and during 
Pontiac's war, a period extending- from 1754 to 1765, the 
people of Hampshire county, in common with those'of other 
parts of the frontier, built forts as places of refuge from 
the savages. These forts were usually large log houses, 
but sometimes consisted of a number of cabins enclosed 
by a stockade of log's planted on end, side by side in the 
ground and rising- eig-hteen or twenty feet. There was a 
fort seven miles above Romney, but its name and its exact 
location are now forgotten. Fort Edward was on the Capon 
river, near where the road from Romney to Winchester 
now crosses. Eight miles below Romney was another 
fort, the name of which is not remembered. Fort William 
was a short distance below Hanging Rocks, and Furman's 
fort was some distance above Hanging Rocks. Ashby's 
fort was at Frankfort, on Patterson creek. Fort George 
stood near Petersburg, in Grant county, and Fort Pleas- 
ants, near Mooreiield, in Hardy county. These were all 
small forts, but a number of formidable fortifications were 
built during those troublous times, not within Hampshire 
count3 T , but so near that many Hampshire people found 
refuge in then. Fort Cumberland stood where the town 
of Cumberland, in Maryland, has since been built, about 
twenty-eight miles from Romney. Fort Frederick was 
also in Maryland, about twelve miles from Martin sburg. 
It was built of stone, walls twenty feet high and four and 
a-half feet thick. It is said to have cost more than three 
hundred thousand dollars. Fort Loudoun, near Winches- 
ter, was very strong, and at one time five hundred families 
fled there for refuge. The fort was planned and built by 
Washington, who superintended it in person. It was 
erected immediately after Braddock's defeat, 1755, and no 
doubt was meant as a stronghold to withstand the attacks 
of the French and Indians should they advance and destroy 
Fort Cumberland. Fort Loudoun mounted twenty-four 
cannon, of which six were eig'hteen-pounders, six twelve- 



INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 



339 



pounders, six six-pounders, four swivels and two howitzers. 

When the French and Indian war broke out, Hamp- 
shire, lying- on the exposed western frontier, soon felt the 
effects of savage warfare. The county at that time in- 
cluded Mineral, Hardy, Grant, Pendleton, part of Morgan, 
as well as much territory lying- westward. In speaking 
of Indian depredations, the present limits of the county 
will be chiefly considered, but events near the borders 
will not be omitted. It will be observed that the Indians, 
made hostile inroads into Hampshire from 1754 to 1765, 
eleven years, never before nor after. One of .the most 
noted Indian chiefs whose presence added to the horrors 
of the savag-e warfare in the South branch valley was. 
Killbuck, a Shawnee from Ohio. He w T as well acquainted 
with the people along* the South branch before the war. 
His invasion of Pendleton, Grant and Hardy counties is 
spoken of elsewhere in this book. When the war broke 
out, Killbuck led some Indians to Patterson creek and 
killed a man named Williams after Williams had killed five 
of the savages, firing on them from his cabin as they at- 
tempted to break into it. Procuring a larger band of fol- 
lowers, Killbuck became ambitious of conquest, and led 
his men against Fort Cumberland, where Cumberland, 
Maryland, now stands. Not being strong enough to cap- 
ture it by assault, he resorted to deceit, and sent word to 
the commandant, Colonel Livingston, that his intentions 
were honorable and his desire was for peace. He wanted 
to visit the fort with his Indians. But Colonel Livingston 
suspected his design, and when Killbuck and his principal 
chiefs were inside, the gate was closed. The command- 
ant charged him with treachery and drove him out in dis- 
grace. No attack was made on the fort at that time. The 
experience which the savages had gained in attacking 
Fort Cumberland a short time before had taught them the 
perils of the enterprise. A hig-h knob on the Mainland 
side of the river overlooked the fort, and Indians in con- 



340 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



sideraule numbers amused themselves by taking- position 
on the summit of this knob and firing* into the fort. They 
did little damage, but the practice was annoying - . One night 
while the savages were firing- into the fort, and making* 
the hill hideous with their yells, seventy-five soldiers sur- 
prised them and killed all but a few. For years there- 
after the knob was called Bloody hill. 

Killbuck continued to annow the settlements until the 
close of the war. He then repaired to his home in Ohio, 
and occasionally visited Wheeling. Subsequently he be- 
came blind, but lived to be more than one hundred years 
old. A companion of Killbuck, named "Crane," because 
of his unusually long neck and leg's, was a great nuisance 
along- the South -branch, but not much record has been 
found of his doings. In that day he was considered nearly 
as dangerous as Killbuck. 

A party of Indians appear d before a fort about seven 
miles below Romney, perhaps in the year 1757, and a num- 
ber of men unwisely sallied out to fight them; but they 
were compelled to retreat to the fort with the loss of sev- 
eral of their party. 

In 1757 a large body of Indians invaded the country, sep- 
arated into small parties and murdered many people. 
About thirty of them approached Fort Edward, on the 
Capon, about three-quarters of a mile above where the 
road to Winchester now crosses. The Indians decoyed 
the garrison into the woods, Captain Mercer being in com- 
mand. The savages waylaid them and killed thirty-four. 
Only six escaped to the fort. This party had previously 
killed two men in that vicinity, making a total of thirty-six. 

Isaac Zane, well known in the annals of Indian warfare, 
was a resident of the South branch, but was taken prisoner 
when quite young and was carried to Ohio where he grew 
up with the Indians, married a sister of a Wyandott chief 
and lived near Chilicothe. During the revolution when 
the Indians were waging a relentless war ag-ainst the 



INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 



341 



frontier, Isaac Zane on more than one occasion secretly 
sent warning- to the settlements, informing- them of 
intended Indian raids, thus saving- many lives. It is not 
improbable that he at one time saved Wheeling from sur- 
prise and capture. He never forgot the Eng-lish language. 
His childhood home was in the present county of Hardy. 

Very early in this war Michael Cresap, then a youth, 
but afterwards a brave soldier, distinguished himself in 
an Indian fight near Old Town, in Maryland, near the 
mouth of the South branch. An Indian had shot a settler 
and when in the act of scalping- him, was shot by Cresap 
who was armed with only a pistol. The aim was good and 
the savage was killed. During- that Indian war there were 
unprincipled white men who went about the settlements 
disguised as Indians, for the purpose of robbing- the 
houses, after frig-htening- the people away. In 1758 two 
such men were killed by settlers in Berkeley county. 

In 1764 a party of Delawares invaded the South branch 
valley and hid near Fur man's fort. William Fur man and 
Nimrod Ashby left the fort to g-o to Jersey mountain to 
hunt deer and were both pursued and killed. The Indians 
prowled around other settlements several days, taking- a 
number of prisoners, and with them returned to the 
South branch. While crossing- that stream near Hanging- 
Rocks, one of the prisoners, Mrs. Thomas, was carried 
away by the swift current, but fortunately escaped drown- 
ing. She escaped from the Indians and reached Furman's 
fort in safety. 

Logan, the famous Mingo chief, from whom both Logan 
and Mingo counties, in this state were named, began his 
career of blood in the South branch valley, killing Benja- 
min Bowman, taking prisoner Humphrey Worsted, and 
stealing a number of horses. Logan's principal achieve- 
ment was the killing with his own hand of thirty or more 
settlers, chiefly women and children, during the Dunmore 
war in 1774. He has also received considerable notoriety 



342 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

» 

on account of a speech attributed to him which was read at 
Dunmore's treat}' with the Indians at Camp Charlotte, 
1774. But Logan was not the author of the speech, and 
perhaps never saw it or heard of it. In that speech he is 
made to say: "During- the course of the last long and 
bloody war Log-an remained idle in his cabin, an advocate 
of peace. Such was my love for the whites, that my 
countrymen pointed as they passed and said, 'Log-an is 
the friend of the white men.' " This, in itself, is reasona- 
bly conclusive proof that some one wrote the speech who 
was not acquainted with Logan's murdering and horse 
stealing expedition to the South branch a few years before. 
Michael Cresap, who was charged in the speech above 
referred to, with being the cause of the Dunmore war, but 
which charg-e was groundless, was well known in Hamp- 
shire county, although a citizen of Maryland, just across 
the Potomac. The accusation that Cresap murdered 
Logan's relatives near Wheeling in 1774, is now known to 
have been false, although long reiterated in histories, even 
by George Bancroft the most eminent historian of the 
United States. Captain Michael Cresap was on the Ohio 
river when the war of 1774 began. He returned at once to 
the Potomac, raised a company of volunteers, mostly in 
Hampshire count} r , and within seventeen days from his 
departure from the Ohio he had returned almost to that 
place when be was ordered to dismiss his men by John 
Connolly, of Pittsburg. Cresap did so with great reluc- 
tance. Connolly was. a willing- tool of Dunmore's in his 
conspiracies against the American people, and when the* 
patriots of Virginia shortly afterwards drove Dunmore 
out, Connolly fled also. More than a century has passed, 
and in the light of history Cresap stands out as a patriot, 
while Dunmore and Connolly are convicted by their own 
acts of conspiring ag-ainst the Virginians who were fight- 
ing for liberty at the opening of the revolution. 

When Fort Henry, at Wheeling, was threatened and 



INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 



343 



besieged by an Indian army in 1777, Captain Foreman 
with a company of Hampshire volunteers marched with 
all speed to help save the settlements along- the Ohio. 
Before his arrival the Indians had been compelled to 
retreat from Wheeling-, but twelve miles from that place 
Captain Foreman fell into an ambuscade and himself and 
twenty-one of his men were killed at Grave creek. In 
every danger, in every call for help, the men of Hampshire 
have been found among the first to respond. 



CHAPTER XXIX, 



<o> 

MONEY AND CURRENCY, 

BY H. L. SWISHER. 

The mere enumeration of substances and commodities- 
that have been used as a medium of exchang-e or money 
would fill much space and occupy much time, and though 
it w T ould possibly be interesting- to show how the currency 
of today has been evolved, and to conjecture as to a means 
of exchang-e in future years, such a treatise does not fall 
within the scope of a county history. The earliest cur- 
rency used in this country was that in use among- the 
Indians at the time white men arrived here. This con- 
sisted of shells strung- on string's and circulated freely 
arnon^ the different tribes and to some extent among- the 
first settlers on the James river. Furs were another 
primitive means of exchang-e and we find a considerable 
traffic in these along- the South branch at an early day. It 
was 'not until a later time that we find tobacco the standard 
•of value. The unsavory weed was used for this purpose 
and to a much larg-er extent than is g-enerally supposed. 
In an old order book of the Hampshire justice court for 
the years 1788 to 1791 we find continual reference to the 
payment of judgments in tobacco. Witnesses were invar-- 
iably paid in tobacco for their attendance at court. The 
rate was twenty-five pounds a day and four pounds for 
each mile travelled in going- to and from court. Clerks' and 
sheriffs' salaries as well as those of other county officers 
were paid in tobacco a little more than a century ago. The 
specie value of this tobacco was a penny and a half-penny 
per pound or about three cents in the money of today. At. 



MONEY AND CURRENCY. 345 



a justice court held April 16, 1789, judgment was 
awarded "Andrew Wodrow against James Anderson, late 
sheriff of Harrison county, for one thousand three hun- 
dred and eighteen pounds of tobacco at a penny and a half- 
penny per pound, being- the amount of fees put into the 
hands of said Anderson to collect on which he never re- 
ported." We can easily see how clumsy this medium of 
exchange was in the adjustment of large accounts. Then 
it was no small matter to transport such a load of money. 

We cannot wonder that in 1792 tobacco as money was 
abandoned and the present system of dollars, cents and 
mills was introduced with some modifications. Coins of 
other countries circulated freely, but led to considerable 
complication in business transactions, so that the general 
assembl} 7 passed an act in 1792 regulating- the value of 
foreign coins. It stated that twenty-seven grains of the 
gold coins of France, Spain, England and Portugal should 
be equal to one hundred cents in Virginia money. The 
gold of Germany being of less fineness, it required twenty- 
nine and eight-tenths grains to equal one dollar in Virginia. 
Spanish milled dollars were worth one hundred cents and 
other silver coins, uncut, were worth one dollar and eleven 
cents an ounce. A "disme" was one-tenth of a dollar. 

The first bank in this county was the Bank of the South 
branch of the Potomac. The building in which it did 
business stood on the ground now occupied by the Literary 
hall in Romney. The date of the organization of this bank 
could not be ascertained, but it was, in all probability, in 
operation at the beginning of the present century* An 
act was passed November 16, 1816, which was "to give the 
Bank of the South branch of the Potomac more time to 
close its business." Unchartered banks had been ordered 
to quit circulating their notes and this act was meant to 
suspend the order temporarily. The same year banks 
were ordered to pay specie on penalty of an addition of six 
per cent. This bank continued in business as late as 1819, 



346 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



at which time Nathaniel Kuykendall was cashier. The 
Bank of the Valley of Virginia, at Winchester, was author- 
ized by act February 5, 1817, and the provision was made 
that if the counties of Jefferson, Berkeley, Hampshire and 
Hardy would subscribe one hundred thousand dollars 
stock, an office of deposit and discount should be estab- 
lished in each county, or if they subscribed two hundred 
thousand dollars two such offices were to be established. 
By taking- advantage of this provision a branch of the Val- 
ley bank was established at Romney about 1825, with John 
McDowell, president, and John Jack, cashier. Other 
branches were established at Mooreiield, Charlestown, 
Christiansburg- and Staunton. It was this bank that 
served the people of the county until the civil war, when 
the mother bank at Winchester suspended and the branch 
banks went out of existence. 

During- the war there was no bank in the county and the 
circulating- medium, which consisted largely of confeder- 
ate money, was in a disturbed condition. The frequent 
incursions of union and confederate forces and the capture 
and recapture of the territory by the opposing- parties lent 
such an element of uncertainty to business transactions 
that no one knew what kind of money to accept. A great 
many, firm in the belief that the confederate cause would 
be triumphant in the end, accepted its money without hesi- 
tation, and finally had only worthless paper to represent 
the larg-e estates they owned at the beginning- of the war. 
The counterfeiting- of bank notes seems to have been quite 
common previous to 1860. Each month there was a "Bank 
Note List," taken from BucknelPs Reporter, published in 
the county papers. In a copy of the Virginia Arg-us for 
August 21, 1851, there is such a list published. The whole 
number of banks in Virginia at this time was forty-one, 
three of which are reported closed and two of which have 
failed. Out of this number, forty-one, there are twenty- 
six banks on which there were "either counterfeit or 



MONEY AND CURRENCY. 347 

altered notes of various denominations in circulation 
throughout the United States, for the description of which 
we refer our readers to the Detector." The Romney 
branch of the bank of the Valley is among- the number 
having - spurious notes in circulation. 

Immediately following- the war there was a great dearth 
of money and in consequence business was hampered and 
hindered. The considerable volume of confederate money 
then in the county having- become utterly worthless, the 
people were left without a medium of exchang-e and conse- 
g-uently transactions of a business nature were carried on 
larg-ely by barter. For more than twenty years after the 
war there was no bank in Romney or in the county. Peo- 
ple generally did. business with the Second National Bank 
of Cumberland for which J. C. Heiskell acted as ag-ent. 
While this method of banking- was quite satisfactory so 
far as methods were concerned it was found to be very 
inconvenient. It was therefore decided to org-anize a bank 
in the county. The Bank of Romney which is still in oper- 
ation and doing- business in the building- occupied by the 
branch of the Valley bank previous to the war, was 
granted its charter September 3, 1888, and went into oper- 
ation January 1, 1889. It was org-anized with the following- 
board of directors: H. B. G-ilkeson, president; Judg-e 
James D. Armstrong-, R. W. Dailey, Jr., I. H. C. Pancake, 
R. E. Guthrie, J. C. Heiskell, J. W. Carter, members and 
John P. Vance, cashier. The convenience of having- a bank 
within the county's limits for the accommodation of its 
citizens is likely to make the Bank of Romney a permanent 
institution. 



CHAPTER XXX« 



€0> 

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, 

BY HIT MAXWELL. 

Hampshire county was not invaded by the enemy during- 
the war of the revolution. The British were never in a 
position to invade it, had they so desired. There was 
too much country between the mountains and the sea. 
Little could be grained and much mig-ht be lost by such an 
invasion. The fate of Colonel Furg-uson, who attempted 
to cross the mountains in North Carolina with a strong- 
British force, was a warning- to all others. The story of 
King-'s mountain soon became familiar far and near. No 
record exists in Hampshire, so far as known, of the names 
or number of the soldiers who went from the county to the 
war of the revolution, but there were many, as is shown by 
the history of the old families, nearly all of whom had rep- 
resentatives fighting- under Washing-ton, Gates, Greene, 
or some other g-eneral in that long- and desperate struggle. 
The character of the soldiers from Hampshire needs no 
words of praise. Well might a g-eneral exclaim, as Pyr- 
rhus exclaimed, "Had I such soldiers how easily could I 
conquer the world!" Trained and schooled in the wars 
with the Indians, the settlers of.Hampshire were not afraid 
of danger. Their loyalty to the cause of liberty was not 
to be shaken, as may be seen from their indignation when 
the tory rebellion broke out in Hardy county, and from the 
promptness with which they helped to suppress it. A full 
account of that unpleasant affair will be found elsewhere 
in this book. 

General Washing-ton fully appreciated the character of 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 



349 



the people on the western frontier when he said, in the 
most discouraging- season of the war, that if driven from 
the lower country by overwhelming-' force he would retreat 
to the mountains and raise the standard of liberty there 
and hold that rugged country for freedom. No doubt he 
had Hampshire county, among- other mountain regions, in 
mind when he thus spoke. No country along- the ranges 
of mountains' was better known to him than was Hamp- 
shire. He had walked over its hills and camped in its vil- 
leys before the county was formed, and before he was 
known to fame. He knew that Hampshire pioneers refused 
to be driven from their county by the Indians, but held out, 
at the fort at Romney and on Capon, when all the rest of 
the country between Winchester and Cumberland had been 
given up to pillag-e. These things, no doubt, he called to 
mind when he seriously considered what he would do if 
driven from the lower country by overwhelming- forces of 
British. 

During the revolution a large number of prisoners of 
war were confined in the fort at Winchester. They were 
largely Hessians, who had been imported from Germany 
by England to fight against the patriots in America. They 
were savage and merciless on the field of battle so long as 
they had the advantage, but when they were on the losing 
side, and more particularly when taken prisoners, they 
were humble, submissive and contrite. After they had 
been confined at Winchester for some time, Tarleton, a 
British officer, undertook a raid against Winchester for the 
purpose of liberating the prisoners. But the movement 
was discovered in time, and the prisoners were hurried off 
to Fort Frederick, in Maryland, twelve miles from Mar- 
tinsburg. Learning that the prisoners were beyond his 
reach, Tarleton did not continue his march to Winchester. 
It is probable that the Hessians were glad that Tarleton 
did not succeed in setting them at liberty, for they would 
then have been put back in the army, and they preferred 



350 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



to remain in captivity. They had a better time where they 
were. They were allowed almost as much liberty as the 
private citizens in the surrounding- country, yet few of 
them attempted to escape. When, at last, they were set 
at liberty, they preferred to stay in America, and many of 
them found their way into Hampshire county and settled. 
Their descendants are in the county yet, and form a re- 
spectable portion of the community. 

John Champe.- — A few miles south of Romney, near 
the South branch, is the site of a house which long - ago fell 
into decay, only a few ruins remaining-. Connected with 
these ruins is a story dating- back to the revolution. Here 
lived for thirty years John Champe, one of the bravest 
soldiers in Washington's army. A mystery hung- over his 
life, but it has long- since been cleared away. He came into 
the South branch valley while the war for independence 
was in progress; and, since it was known that he had been 
an officer in the army, enjoying- the confidence of Wash- 
ing-ton, it was a source of speculation why he had left the 
army and taken up his abode in what was then the remote 
frontier of Virginia. The true reason was understood by 
a few, but the truth became g-enerally known only long' 
years after the war, when Washington and many of his 
soldiers had gone to their last rest. Washington sent 
Champe into Hampshire county to remove him from the 
danger of falling- into the hands of the British, by whom he 
would have been hanged had they captured him. The story 
of his life and of the hazzardous mission which he under- 
took is as follows: 

John Champe was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, 
about 1756. He enlisted in the continental army in 1776, 
and was in the command of Major Henry Lee. Champe 
rose to the rank of sergeant major, and was a great 
favorite with Lee. He was thus performing the duties of 
a soldier and officer when peculiar circumstances brought 
him to the notice of Washington. Benedict Arnold had 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 



351 



turned traitor and had lied to the British army at New 
York. Major Andre had been captured and was held as a 
spy. Rumors were in circulation to the effect that at 
least one other American officer of high rank contemplated 
desertion, and no one knew how far the spirit of treason 
might extend. It was an hour of uncertainty and danger. 
Washington felt the gravity of the situation. He sent for 
Major Henry Lee in whom he. had unbounded confidence, 
and laid before him a plan for the capture of the arch- 
traitor Arnold. Could he be taken and executed, his d.eath 
would satisfy justice and furnish the public example 
deemed necessary; and the unfortunate Major Andre's 
life could be spared. To carry out Washing-ton's plan, it 
was necessary to find a man of cool determination, delib- 
erate purpose, desperate courage, and absolute self- 
possession under any and all circumstances. He was to 
desert to the British, and execute a plan for kidnapping- 
Arnold and carrying him into the American lines. Wash- 
ington asked Lee to find him a man who could do this. 
Lee selected Champe and brought him to Washington. 
The young- officer was of a silent and morose disposition, 
of dark complexion, a splendid, horseman, of a frame mus- 
cular and powerful, combining' the qualities, both mental 
and physical, necessary for performing duties difficult and 
dangerous. 

The young officer came to Washington, and heard the 
plan for Arnold's capture. He did not like to undertake 
it, not because of the danger, but the thought of desertion, 
even when feigned, was abhorrent to him. Upon the 
earnest entreaty of Washington, he finally agreed to go 
upon the mission. The time was short, for it was neces- 
sary to act at once. About eleven o'clock that night he 
quietly mounted his horse and started for New York by 
way of Paulus Hook. He hoped to escape unobserved, or 
at least to have several hours the start of his pursuers. 
But in this he was disappointed. He had not been g*one an 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



hour before a troop of cavalry was in pursuit. When he 
reached the water's edge, within sight of a British ship, 
the pursuers were within two hundred yards of him. He 
left his horse and plunged into the water. The British 
came to meet him and he was assisted on board, and in a 
short time reached New York, where he was introduced 
to Sir Henry Clinton, who at once saw that Champe was a 
man who could be useful. The news of the desertion had 
already reached the British commander. Champe had 
papers on his person which showed him to be an officer; 
arid it was the policy of the British to give deserting 
officers the same rank in the British army that they had 
held in the American army, by this method encouraging 
others to desert. Benedict Arnold had already been 
received with favor, and was engaged in raising a body of 
soldiers, which he called the American Legion, composed 
of tories and deserters. It was natural that Champe should 
be sent to Arnold 'to be given service in the American 
Legion. This was what he had hoped for; and at the end 
of a few days he found himself with Benedict Arnold. 
Arrangements were made for carrying the traitor back to 
the American lines. Cham.pe had two companions who 
were ready to assist him. A boat was prepared and was 
tied at a convenient point. Major Lee was notified, and 
sent a troop of cavalry to a place agreed upon to be in 
readiness to carry Arnold away if Champe should succeed 
in kidnapping him and bringing him in the boat to shore. 
The plan was to seize Arnold, gag him, carry him by force 
to the boat and make off. Everything was ready, and the 
night approached for executing- the plan. But at the last 
hour it was defeated by an Unforeseen occurrence. Arnold 
was ordered to another point, and Champe, with much dis- 
gust, saw his project fall through. It is believed that it 
ud have succeeded had Arnold remained a few hours 
longer where he was. In the meantime Major Andre had 
confessed, thus rendering unnecessary a protracted trial, 

25 

1 

/ 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 



353 



and he had been put to death in accordance with the severe 
b>ut necessary rules of war which decree that the spy must 
pay the penalty with his life. Had Arnold been captured, 
and executed, the life of Andre could not have been spared 
under the circumstances. 

Benedict Arnold and his newly organized troops sailed 
for the south and landed in Virginia. Champe went with 
them, and was thus carried far from his friends in New 
York, and all hope of kidnapping- the traitor was past. He 
therefore prepared to escape back to the American lines. 
The opportunity to do so came soon after Arnold joined 
Lord Cornwallis at Petersburg. General Greene was then 
in the south, as was Major Lee also. Champe returned to 
Lee, and was by him introduced to General Greene who 
furnished him with a horse and sent him to General Wash- 
ington who received him kindly, and gave him his dis- 
charge from the army, lest he fall into the hands of the 
British and be hanged by them. It is highly probable that 
Washington advised him to go to the South branch valley 
beyond the reach of the British. It is well known that 
Washing-ton was acquainted with Hampshire county, and 
knew the wealth of the country in natural resources; and 
also knew that no British army would ever penetrate so 
far into the interior. At any rate, Champe took up his 
residence on the South branch, on land now belonging to 
John M. Pancake, near the Haunted Gate, five miles south 
of Romney. 

The subsequent history of Champe is much like that of 
Simon Kenton, the Kentucky pioneer who was doomed to 
disappointment and neglect and who died in poverty. When 
Washington sent Champe upon his perilous mission he 
promised him, in the name of the United States, that he 
should be well rewarded. This promise seems never to have 
been fulfilled. Champe remained at his home on the South 
branch, but there is no record that he ever owned the land 
on which he lived. However, Washington never forgot 



354 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



hini. About fifteen years afterward, when it seemed that 
war was about to be declared between the United States 
and France, and Washing-ton had been called to takt com- 
mand of the American army, he endeavored to find Champe, 
intending- to give him a command in the army. But he was 
told that Champe had gone to Kentucky, where he had 
died. But this was incorrect. He still lived in the South 
branch valley, but it is uncertain whether at the place of 
his first settlement or further up the river. In 1788 his 
name occurs on the land books. In that year he entered a 
claim on a tract of public land on the Alleg-hany mountains, 
in Hardy county, but within the present limits of Grant 
count}^. It is not believed that he ever lived on this land. 
For the next twenty-five years nothing- is known of his life, 
except that he married Phoebe Parnard and had a family. 
About 1815 he moved to Ohio, in company with Isaac Miller 
of Hampshire count}^. Mr. Miller settled on a tributary 
of the Scioto river. Champe remained a short time in Ohio 
and then w T ent to Kentucky and soon died. His descend- 
enfs are still living- in Ohio and Michig-an. His son, 
Nathaniel Champe, was an officer in the war of 1812 and 
made an honorable record. About 1858 S. S. Cox of Ohio, 
presented a petition to congress on behalf of the heirs of 
John Champe, asking- for recognition of the claim of their 
father. The heirs then resided in Ohio and Michig-an. 
The petition w T as prepared by A. W. Kercheval of Hamp- 
shire county. It was never acted upon. 

Early Militia Roll. — The earliest militia roll now 
obtainable in Hampshire county is in the possession of 
Lieutenant John Blue, to whom it descended from his 
grandfather, Captain John Blue. The roll bears date 
April 28, 1790, and as that was but a short time after the 
close of the Revolutionary war it is hig-hly probable that 
the same company was in existence during that war. From 
the list of names given below it will be seen that many of 
the names are still common in this county among the best 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 



355 



class of citizens: John Blue, captain; Robert Ross, John 
Ross, Garrett Blue, William Linton, John Pancake, James 
Spilman, John Reynolds, John Newman, Andrew Humes, 
George Glaze, Robert Parker, William Hanson, George 
Newman, William New man, James Dale, Thomas Cornick, 
Barton Davis, Abraham Blue, John Williams, Joseph Hall, 
Peter Parker, Jesse Edwards, William Beakeman, Benja- 
min Belford, John Elos, Benjamin Swick, Isaac Daiton, 
John Ross, jr., David Lay cock, Jacob Blue, William Skid- 
more, Samuel Davis, Samuel Newman, George Taylor, 
Ralph Skidmore, John Walker, William Coug-hran, Joseph 
Coughran, John Donalson, William -Donalson, Robert 
Walker, Samuel Walker, Robert Buck, ''Anthony Buck, 
Jeremiah Sullivan, Patrick Savage, John Wells, William 
Corbett, Isaac Johnson, Robert Reynolds, Henry Hinds, 
Samuel Abernathy, James Halls, James Smoug'ht, Simon 
Pancake, Wheeler Meradeth, Thomas Davis, Joseph Wil^ 
liams, James Starr, Samuel Shrout, William Sheets, Wil- 
liam Spilman, James Wood, Abraham Skilmon, Peter 
Swick, Henry Barber, Peter Williams, John Campbell, 
Feildon Calmers, Benjamin Neale, Isaac Newman. 

It will be seen that four men of the name Newman were 
members of that company. It is believed that they were 
brothers of Dr. Robert Newman, but proof of it has not 
been found. Dr. Newman had five brothers who, w 7 ith 
himself, took part in St. Clair's battle with the Indians, 
north of Cincinnati, the year after the date of the above 
militia roll, that is in 1791, and five of the brothers were 
killed. 



CHAPTER XXXI, 



«o> 

NOTES ON NEWSPAPERS. 

BY H. L. SWISHER. 

Hampshire's newspaper history is long- but not so varied 
as that of many counties a century younger. We find in 
many counties numerous newspapers of an ephemeral na- 
ture. They grow up as suddenly as Jonah's gourd and 
like it perish in a night. Such is not the history of news- 
papers in Hampshire. This county seems to have never 
liad a paper but met with a reasonable degree of success 
and accomplished in a certain measure the purpose for 
which it was established. In the year 1830 William Har- 
per set on foot the Hampshire and Hardy Intelligencer 
This paper served the people of both counties as a news- 
paper as there was no other paper nearer than Cumber- 
land. The name was in a short time changed to The 
South Branch Intelligencer and under this head it was run 
for two generations. This paper when established was a 
six-column, four page paper 14x20 inches in size. It was, 
however, soon enlarged to seven columns and later to 
eight. At first it was printed on an old Franklin press, 
and the printing- of one thousand to twelve hundred copies, 
which was its circulation at that time, was no small job. 
The ink was distributed by means of buckskin-covered 
balls filled with some absorbing - substance. Such a thing 
as a composition roller was unknown. This paper was 
whig m politics during- all its career up to the war, but 
after the war it lent its support to the reg-ular democratic 
party. Mr. Harper continued as editor of the Intelli- 
gencer until his death, which took place in 1887. During 



NOTES ON NEWSPAPERS. 



357 



his long- connection with newspaper work in the county he 
became acquainted with most of the older inhabitants, and 
they looked upon him and his paper as indispensable 
friends. After his death the paper was conducted, for 
about three years, by his widow until 1890, when Mrs* 
Harper sold the paper to a stock company who placed C. 
F. Poland at the head, and he continued as editor until 
January, 1897, when the stock and fixtures were bought 
by Cornwell Brothers, of the Review. With this event the 
old South Branch Intellig-encer, which had visited the peo- 
ple of the county reg-ularly, except during- the civil war, 
for almost three score years, passed out of existence. 

The Virginia Arg-us, a democratic paper, was estab- 
lished in Romney in the month of July, 1850. Its founder 
was A. S. Trowbridge, who had formerly followed the 
profession of teaching- in New Orleans. The measure of 
success was not such as he thought ought to be meted out 
to his enterprise, so in the year 1857 he sold the paper to 
Samuel R. Smith and John G. Combs, who held it for three 
years and nine months and in turn sold it to William Par- 
sons. A few months' experience satisfied Mr. Parsons 
that' he did not need the paper, so he in turn sold it to 
Colonel Alexander Monroe and Job N. Cookus. These 
gentlemen continued as editors and proprietors until the 
first year of the war when they laid aside the pen and took 
up the sword and substituted for the noise of the printing- 
press the din of battle. The paper was not revived after 
the war. 

The Review, the strong-est paper ever in the county, 
and one of the most ably edited local papers in the state, 
was established in 1884 by C. F. Poland, who conducted 
the enterprise with considerable success until 1890, when 
he sold out to the present proprietors, Cornwell Brothers. 
The Review has a comfortable home, built in 1895, and 
is steadily increasing in circulation and influence. Wheni 
established it was a seven column folio, but has recently 



358 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

enlarged to eight columns, and is now printed on a new 
steam press. In politics it has always been democratic. 

The latest journalistic enterprise in the county is the 
Romney Times, established March 25, 1897. James Wirg- 
man is editor and proprietor. The paper is republican in 
politics and has thus far received a fair measure of sup- 
port. 

The Tablet is an educational paper supported by the 
state and published at the Institution for the. purpose of 
teaching- printing- to the pupils. It is issued weekly, on 
Saturday, during- the school session of forty weeks. 
Parents of pupils attending- the Institution receive the 
paper free. Others pay fifty cents a year for it. In size 
it is four column, 16x22, and its makeup is chiefly of such 
matter as concern the school and pupils. This paper was 
established in January, 1877, by A. D. Hays and has 
remained under his management for the greater part of 
the time since. 

There is nothing- that so minutely mirrors local senti- 
ment and current history of a community as its local 
papers. In after years the chaff of weekly news, as re- 
corded in the columns of a county's papers, yields the 
golden grain of history. Some of the incidents and hap- 
penings of former years that we find recorded in those 
old papers seem trivial enough, but, in fact, they were 
once matters of moment. 

The oldest paper published in Hampshire which the 
author has seen, is a copy of the South Branch Intelli- 
gencer of April 4, 1845. It is a seven-column folio. The 
tittle is in moderately-sized letters, but without display. 
The paper is filled up largeky with descriptive articles and 
foreign news. Some local items, however, are of interest. 
There is a list of unclaimed letters remaining in the Rom- 
ney postohice April 4, 1845, signed by E. M. Armstrong, 
P. M. This paper and several other very old ones were 
furnished the writer by J. N. Buzzard. They bear the 



NOTES ON NEWSPAPERS. 



359 



name of James Larimore. In this issue John Green and 
Joseph Davis give notice that they do a general business in 
carding* and fulling-. There is also a column and a-half arti- 
cle on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, showing- the proba- 
bility of its being- built and the benefits to be derived there- 
from. In an issue of the same paper for 1847 we find this 
notice: 

'"temperance. 

"Georg-e Gilbert contemplates delivering-" a temperance 
address in the court house in Romney on Saturday nig-ht, 
23d hist., at early candle lig-hting-. " 

We see thus that active war was wag-ed ag-ainst intoxi- 
cants fifty years ag-o even in our midst. In the market 
reports for this year wheat is quoted at one dollar and 
forty cents to one dollar and fifty cents a bushel; corn sixty- 
nine to seventy cents; oats forty to forty-five cents, and 
rye seventy to ; seventy-five cents. Here is a notice that 
must have caused consternation among- the small boys: 

"no ball playing agaixst the court house. 
"Hampshire County. 

"September Court, 1847. 

"Ordered, That Joseph Poling, keeper of the court house, 
prevent all ball-plajung- against the court house and defac- 
ing- and injuring- the same; and that if any person or per- 
sons shall hereafter play ball ag-ainst said court house, or 
deface or injure the same, it shall be the duty of the said 
Poling- to report to the court the names of all such offend- 
ers in order that he or they may be proceeded ag-ainst for 
said offence. 

"This order is ordered to be published. 

"A copy: Teste." 

There is also an advertisement of "The most brilliant 
lottery ever drawn in the United States." It was located 
at Alexandria, and no doubt attracted many an adventurer 
by its brilliancy. There is, however, no local mention of 
<any fortunate ticket-holder in this county. Another copy 



360 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



of the paper for November 15,1850, is very much improved 
in size, appearance and makeup. There are numerous 
professional cards and many business notices. Two 
schools of academic grade are advertised, showing - that 
educational advancement kept pace with material progress. 
Two year later still greater progress is manifested and the. 
paper becomes in tone much like the local paper of today. 
A couple of peculiar notices from these old papers will close. 
this chapter: 

"half a cent reward. 
"Ran away from the subscriber on 22 of February of Feb- 
ruary, a bound boy by the name of James C , about 13- 
year s of age. The above reward will be given to any per- 
son who may bring him back to me. 

"Washington Park. 

"Hamp. Co., Mar. 5, 1852." 

W e have no record of who captured the prize. There are. 
also several advertisements of slaves for sale and for hire,, 
which read to us of the present generation like tales from 
a foreign land. 

Times were not then so prosaic as one might suppose, 
for in an old paper printed in 1852 a shoemaker thus pours 
forth his soul in a poetic advertisement: 

"Each lady, too, will please to recollect 
Men have for pretty feet a great respect. 
Many a time the foot a beau will gain, 
E'en when a pretty face has tried in vain." 

But let us drag into the lig-ht no more of the peculiarities 
of times and people so long past. Who shall say others 
will not in time to come, smile at those thing's we now con- 
sider sum and substance? 



CHAPTER XXXHL 



<io> 

AMONG OLD RECORDS. 

BY HU MAXWELL. 

Hampshire county, being- the oldest in the state, its pub- 
lic records of course date back beyond those of any other 
county. So far as can be ascertained the first public 
record for Hampshire was written June 11, 1755. It was 
the minutes of a court held at that time. The oldest book 
in the court house, or that which is apparently the oldest, 
is a record of deeds, leases and mortgages immediately 
following- the organization of Hampshire. The entry on 
the first page bears date in December, 1757, and to this 
fact are probably due the statements made by most his- 
torians who have written on the subject, that the oldest 
record was made in 1757. A person who is seeking the 
date of the oldest record, naturally looks on the first page 
of the oldest book. But in the present case, that would be 
misleading; and it is apparent that Kercheval, Howe, 
Lewis and others who have examined into Hampshire's 
history, have fallen into the error, and have concluded that 
the entry on the first page of the oldest book extant is 
actually the oldest record. Such is not the case. This 
old book bears internal evidence of being a copy of a still 
older book; or, more probably, it is a copy of records 
which existed some years as documents folded and laid, 
away. The evidence of this is the fact that at different 
places in the books are instruments bearing dates earlier 
than those on the first pages. For example, on the first 
pag-es are deeds prefaced by these words: "At a court 
held in and for the county of Hampshire, December 13. 



362 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



1757, ordered to be placed on record." A hundred or 
more pages further in the book occurs this preface to a 
deed: "At a court held in and for the county of Hamp- 
shire, June 11, 1755, ordered to be placed on record." 
Documents admitted to record at earlier sessions of court 
are found following- those admitted later, probably twenty 
places in the book, showing-, or at least indicating-, that the 
recorder had before him a bundle of papers of different 
dates, all to be recorded; and that he endeavored to record 
them in the order of their dates, and usually did so, but a 
few of the earliest were overlooked, and had to be recorded 
later. 

The honor of being- the first clerk of Hampshire has 
usually been given to Gabriel Jones; but this is also a mis- 
take, and it was made in the same manner as the error as 
to the first court. The first pag-e of the oldest book was 
examined, and the clerk who recorded that page was 
Gabriel Jones. But the records of the court of June 11, 
1755, show that Archibald Wag-er was the first clerk, or at 
least was in office before Gabriel Jones. There is nothing 
in this old book to show where this first court was held. 
It would be interesting- to show this, for at that time the 
French and Indian war was rag'ing with all its fury, and 
Hampshire was overrun with savag-es and their French 
allies. Three days before this first court was held in 
Hampshire, the British and American troops, under com- 
mand of General Braddqck, left Cumberland on the march 
±o the present site of Pittsburg; and within one month 
from that date occurred the terrible battle on the bank of 
the Monomjahela where Braddock fell and where he lost 
nearly halt his army.. Washing-ton conducted the retreat 
to Cumberland, and the place was considered so unsafe, 
that the British troops continued the retreat to Philadel- 
phia. Washing-ton returned to Virginia with the Ameri- 
can soldiers, paid built a strong fort at Winchester as a de- 
fense against the Indians and French. If such was the 



AMONG OLD RECORDS. 



363 



desperation of the situation that a British army was afraid 
to stay in Cumberland, and Washing-ton thought it neces- 
sary to fortify Winchester, what must have been the situ- 
ation of Hampshire which lay exposed to attack, and forty 
or fifty miles nearer the Indian country than Winchester 
was? Yet, it was in that summer, in the midst of the war, 
that Hampshire's first court was held. As already said, 
it would be interesting" to know where the court convened 
and what protection it had against Indian attacks. It is 
known that the oldest court house stood several miles 
above the site of Roraney, on the South branch; but 
whether it was in existence as early as the summer of 1755, 
and whether the first court was held there, is not certainly 
known, and perhaps the truth will never be ascertained. 
No person living- can remember anything- throwing light 
•on the subject. It is probable, however, that, the first 
court was not held in the court house on the river. It is 
more- probable that it was held in some private house, the 
owner and its location having been long ago forgotten. 
Some persons are inclined to believe that the first court 
was not held in the county at all, but somewhere else. 
Wherever it was held, it was under British rule, and the 
judges were appointed by the crown, probably on author- 
ity delegated to Lord Fairfax. . 

Gabriel Jones was clerk of the court in 1757, and held 
office twenty-five years, 'and signed the court proceedings 
till the close of the Revolutionary war. If not a relative of 
Lord Fairfax he was at least on intimate terms with him, 
and held his office by appointment from Fairfax. He was 
a personage of considerable importance in his time, at least 
in his own estimation. He was clerk of other courts be- 
sides Hampshire, and went from place to place signing the 
court proceedings, which were written by his deputies. 
Sometimes, however, several pages in the old books are 
found in the unmistakable penmanship of Gabriel Jones, 
showing that he could work when he wanted to. Lord 



364 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Fairfax owned several counties and could have appointed 
Jones clerk of all of them had he so desired. As it was the 
old clerk had good pay and enough to do to keep him busy 
part of the time, and he was philosophical enough not to 
grasp at so many of the emoluments of office that he would 
have no time to enjoy the fleeting years. Thus life ran 
smoothly with him, and for a quarter of a century he signed 
the pages of the Hamshire courts. There is no record of 
how or why he lost his place; but, since his name diappears 
just after the close of the revolution, and soon after the 
death of Lord Fairfax, it is probable that the end of British: 
rule in Virginia also was the end of the clerkship of Gabriel 
Jones. Nevertheless he had been permitted to hold the 
office all through the war, although it was w T ell known that 
his patron, Lord Fairfax, was an enemy to the cause of 
American independence. 

Although he was clerk of several counties, yet he found 
time for long pleasure trips to Richmond, Baltimore and 
elsewhere. Those cities were not so large or busy then 
as now, and many of the inhabitants, perhaps the most of 
them, at least in Richmond, knew Gabriel Jones. Like 
many other men of fame or genius, he sometimes took 
refuge from business cares in the excitement and pleasure 
of a game, usually as pastime, but sometimes for money. 
The story is told of him that once in Richmond the games 
w r ent against him all night, and by the dawn of day his 
pocketbook had collapsed; the last shilling had gone into 
the pocket of the successful shark who played against him. 
But Mr. Jones had resources other than ready money. He 
wore a coat with gold buttons, everyone worth five dollars* 
and there were a dozen of them. When his money was 
gone he commenced betting his buttons. As fast as he 
lost one he cut off another and staked it. Luck was against 
him, and the buttons went until only one was left. He 
hesitated when he came to that, but his hesitation was 
short, and as he cut off the button he remarked: "Here 



AMONG OLD RECORDS. 365 

goes the last button on Gabe's coat." That sentence be- 
came a proverb in Hampshire county, and still may be 
heard. When a man is driven to extremities and is com- 
pelled to put forward his last resource, he does so with the 
remark: "Here goes the last button on Gabe's coat." 

The oldest books in the court house are made of linen 
paper, apparently equal to the best modern paper. At 
any rate, it has stood the test of a century or more of use 
and wear, and is still in good condition. The writing in 
most cases is clear and easily read. The ink used then 
must have been of an excellent quality, for it has neither 
faded nor rotted the paper. This is no doubt partly due 
to the fact that the writing was dene with quill pens. It 
is well known that public records and documents to be pre- 
served for a great length of time, should never be written 
with steel pens, but with quills, or with gold or glass pens. 
The rust from a steel pen forms a combination with some 
kinds of ink and rots the paper. In manuscripts not a 
quarter of a century old the ink sometimes has rotted the 
paper until every letter is eaten out, due to having been 
written with a steel pen and poor ink. But in Hampshire's 
records not a case of this kind was met with, either among 
the old or the new books. 

The spelling and the grammar are often faulty and 
unique in the old records. This was due to two causes: 
first, documents were sometimes copied in the books just 
as they were written, mistakes and all; secondly, those 
who did the recording were sometimes deputies who had 
little education. The clerks of Hampshire have usually 
been educated g-entlemen, but occasionally they have em- 
ployed less educated persons to do the clerical work, and 
errors in g'rammar and spelling have crept in. A lease 
was recorded before the Revolutionary war in which the 
word "acres" is spelled in seven different ways, and not 
•one of them right. It is "akers," "eakers," "akkers," 
"aquers," "ackers," aikers," and "akres." One is 



366 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

tempted to believe that the person who wrote itw T as exper- 
imenting to see in how many wrong- wa}^s he could spell 
the word. Another case of the same kind occurs in which 
"the calculus of variations" is brought to bear with all its 
powers upon the proper name "Hughes." From the 
handwriting it is evident that the copying was done by the 
same person who' had experimented on "acres." It 
appears that Thomas Hughes and Susanna Hughes, his 
wife, made a deed. At first they are spoken of as " Thomas 
Hughes and Susanna Hues, his wife," and then as 
"Thomas Hughes and his wife Susannah Hughs;" again 
as "Thomas Hews and S. Hughes," and finally pure pho- 
netics are resorted to and names are "Tomas Huse and 
Suzana Huze, his wife." Such variation in the spelling- 
could not have been the result of ignorance, and. must have 
been done by some copyist for amusement. The varia- 
tions in the spelling of "Capon" are little better; but in 
that case the different orthographies were usually by dif- 
ferent persons, and are found all through the records from 
the earliest times till the present. Each clerk, or copyist, 
had his own way to spell the name; and to this day men 
who have lived their whole lives in Hampshire will dispute 
over the proper spelling of the word. It is the name of a 
river, and is said to be of Indian origin, meaning- "to 
appear," "to rise to view," "to be found again," or some- 
thing of that kind. Lost river after flowing many miles, 
sinks and disappears, and after passing some distance 
under ground, rises to the surface, and then takes the 
name Capon. The word is spelled in different ways now. 
It is pronounced "Ca-pon," with accent on the first sylla- 
ble, and that ought to be the spelling. But some write it 
"Cacapon" to this day, and it so spelled on the govern- 
ment g-eologic maps. In the earliest records it appears as 
"Cape Capon," "Capecapon," "Capcapon," "Cacapehon," 
"Cacapon," " Capecacapon, " "Capecacahepon," and even 
in other ways. In 1849 Dr. Foote in his "Sketches of Vir- 



AMONG OLD RECORDS. 



367 



ginia" spells it "Cacopon." The name "Potomac" has 
nearly as many spelling's, not to mention three or four dif- 
ferent and distinct names by which it was known in early 
years. It was " Powtownnac, " "Potomack," "Powtowmac," 
"Powtowrnack." "Pawtomack, " "Potawinack," "Poto- 
muck," and "Potomoke," . 

There is little difficulty in determining- whether a docu- 
ment was written under British rule or after the achieve- 
ment of independence, even if the date is missing. Under 
the British rule there is a long- preamble, reciting- the great 
and lasting- benefits which befall humanity on account of 
the benigm sovereignty of "the king- of Great Britain, 
France and Ireland, by the grace of God." After the Rev- 
olutionary war there is no more of this foolishness. Some- 
times papers of the most trivial character are prefaced by 
pompous and high-flown lang-uag-e, always referring- to the 
royal family on the throne of England, One may be given 
as an example of a large class. Early in 1762. Elizabeth 
Long, wife of Christian Long, of Hampshire county, owned 
a tract of land and wanted to sell it. But she was an in- 
valid and was unable to travel from her home to the court 
of Hampshire county to acknowledge the deed and to be 
questioned as to whether she had signed it willingly, as the 
law required. She being unable to travel to court, and the 
court being unwilling to travel to where she was, there was 
a hitch in the proceedings, and the throne of England was 
appealed to for assistance. Thereupon, "George the 
Third, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and 
Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.," appointed a 
commission to visit Mrs. Long at her house and ascertain 
whether she had signed^the deed of her own free will, or 
whether she had done it "through force, fear or fraud." 
This commission was composed of Benjamin Kuykendall, 
Jonathan Heath and Robert Parker, all of Hampshire. 
The gentlemen performed their duty as became loyal sub- 
jects of King George, and made a written report "to the 



368 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



justices of our lord, the king-," that Mrs. Elizabeth Long- 
had willingly signed the deed, and force, fear or fraud had 
no influence over her. Thereupon the deed was admitted 
to record May 12, 1762. Of course this document was in 
compliance with a form used in all similar cases; but that 
makes it none the less interesting, as it reminds us force- 
ably of the time when the people who inhabited the valleys 
and hills of Hampshire acknowledged the sovereignty of 
the king of England. Although they were loyal and 
obedient subjects, yet it is doubtful if they had much re- 
spect for any king. At least the people of this part of the 
country were the strongest supporters of independence, 
both at home and on the battlefield. 

The first divorce granted in Hampshire county was a 
peculiar affair. If the law had been strictly interpreted, it 
probably w T ould not have been declared a lawful divorce; 
but it is designated a divorce on the face of the record, 
ana without doubt it was so considered by all interested 
parties. The history of the transaction, as nearly as can 
be ascertained, was as follows: During Pontiac's war, 
prior to 1765, a farmer in Hampshire county was taken 
prisoner by the Indians, but his wife escaped. He was 
carried to Ohio and from there was sold from tribe to 
tribe until several years afterwards, w T hen peace was made- 
with the Indians, he came home. He had heard nothing 
from his wife during the years of his captivity, but he evi- 
dently expected to see her again. Great was his disap- 
pointment when, upon arriving at his old home, he learned 
that she had long ago given him up as dead; had married 
again, and had several children. He did not seek revenge, 
but accepted the situation with the resignation of an Enoch 
Arden. The following record was made February 19, 
1773, except that the names are left blank. 
"To all whom these presence may come or may concern: 

"Whereas, My wife hath sometime left me, and hath in- 
termarried with J C , I do hereby certify that I do 

36 \ v ;. 



AMONG OLD RECORDS. 



369 



freely acquit and discharge the said J C- from all 

trouble or damages, and I do consent that they may dwell 
together as husband and wife for the future without any 
interruption from me. Given under my hand and seal this 
XIX day of February, 1773. 

"J K ." 

After Gabriel Jones had held the office of clerk twenty- 
five years, Andrew Wodrow came in and held from 1782 to 
1814, thirty-two years. There was then a clerk who was 
in office only a few months, and gave way for John B. White, 
who was clerk from 1814- to 1862, forty-eight years. Dur- 
ing the w T ar and immediately following-, the office was ad- 
ministered by different parties till C. S. White was elected 
in 1872, and was subsequently elected for terms ending in 
1903. No other county in the state, and probably none in 
the United States, can show such a record. In 1903 the 
county will be one hundred and forty-eight years old, and 
four clerks will have held office one hundred and thirty-five 
years. These clerks are Gabriel Jones, twenty-five years; 
Andrew Wodrow, thirty-two years; John B. White, forty- 
eight years; C. S. White, thirty years. The last two are 
father and son, and their combined terms are seventy-eight 
years. The historian is not gifted to see into the future, 
but at the date of the writing of this book the county clerk, 
C. S. White, is not an old man, and judging from the cus- 
tom of Hampshire of keeping clerks in office all their lives, 
it is not beyond the range of possibilities that the father 
and son may hold the office a century. 

It is not positively known where the first Hampshire 
county court was held, but very early in the county's his- 
tory a court house was built in the valley several miles 
above Romhey. This was prior to 1762. In that year 
Romney was made the county seat, and a wooden cour 
house was afterwards built between the present store 
J. H. C. Pancake and the foot of the hill, southwest. C 
was held there many years, and finally a brick hr 



370 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

was erected for the court. It stood east of the present 
court house and answered all purposes for which it was 
intended until 1837, when the present court house was 
completed. 

The records have passed through vicissitudes of fortune^ 
and many are now missing-. It is believed, however, that 
they were complete up to the beginning- of the war. • Dur- 
ing- the war the court house was used as a stable by the 
soldiers who were stationed at Romney, and all records 
which had beeii left in the building- were scattered and 
lost. Fortunately, however, the most valuable books had 
been removed. Early in 1861 when the union forces under 
General Lew Wallace came to Romney, John B. Y\ r hite was 
clerk. He was fearful that the books would be meddled 
with, and he kept close watch over them. But they were 
not molested. In the fall of 1861 another union army 
advanced to Romney under General Kelley. Learning- of 
the advance of the federal forces, and npt" wishing' to risk 
the books again in the hands of the union troops, Mr. 
White loaded them on wag-ons and sent them to Winches- 
ter. He took only the bound volumes, such as deed books, 
wills, and settlements of estates, and left the original 
papers in the court house taking two chances of preserv- 
ing the records. If the books should be destroyed, there 
was a chance that the papers in Romney would escape. If 
the papers should be lost, the books in Winchester 
might escape. The wisdom of this measure was after- 
wards apparent. Had the books been left in the court 
house, all of Hampshire's records .before the war would 
have been destroyed, opening the way to almost endless 
litigation regarding the title to lands. As it was, the books 
ad many a narrow escape as related in what follows, 
'n 1863 Winchester was no long-er a safe place for any- 
T that could be destroyed. That town was captured 
y-eight times during the war. It changed hands 
than the moon changed. The yankees and the rebels 



AMONG OLD RECORDS. 



371 



chased one another in and out of it in rapid succession. 
By the close of the second year of the war the town could 
no longer "be held any length of time by the confederates. 
Captain C. S. White, then in the southern army, kept his 
eye on the Hampshire records with concern for their 
safety. The 3 r ankees had ascertained that the books were 
in Winchester, and they were bent on destroying- them. 
To prevent this, Captain White removed them to Front 
Royal. In a short time they were in danger here, and they 
were taken to Luray and remained several months. The 
union forces threatened that town, and it was apparent 
that it must soon fall into their hands'. Captain 
White was determined to take the Hampshire books away,, 
and with a company of about sixty men hurried to Luray, 
hoping- to reach there ahead of the federal troops. In this 
he was disappointed. They entered the town ahead of 
him, and made straight for the place where the books were 
stored and commenced destroying- them. That appeared 
to be the principal object they had in view, and had they 
been left alone a few hours they would have succeeded. 
But they were surprised in the act. Captain White and 
his men rode up and caught the yankees tearing- up the 
books. The first intimation they had of the approach of 
the rebels was when a load of shot fired from a double- 
barreled g-un in the hands of Captain White, took effect on 
the exposed part of the body of a yankee who was in the 
act of perpetrating- an insulting- defilement upon the open 
pages of a deed book. The yankee sprang- into the air as 
the load of shot struck him, ran a few steps, butted his 
head against a wall, and fell. Another yankee was at work 
on a book with his knife, slashing the pages. When the 
shot was fired, the yankees fled. Captain White and his 
men threw the books, about one hundred and fifty in num- 
ber, into a wagon, and carried them safely away. They 
were taken to North Carolina and were concealed until the 
war was over. This was in the autumn of 1864. The 



372 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



next year Captain White went to North Carolina and 
hauled the books to Staunton, and from there sent them by- 
express to Romney. 

In all of these charig-es of location, and ups and downs of 
fortune, not a volume was lost, and the only damag-e sus- 
tained was the wear of the covers, and the mutilation of 
two books by the yankees at Luray. The Romney court 
house was repaired and cleaned out, and the clerk's office 
was once more opened for business, after an interval of 
four years. 

Other portions of the county records did not fare so 
well. Some of the records of the superior court are not 
in Romney, and may never be found. Among- the volumes 
dating from before the war are, "Field Notes of the 
County Surveyor," in 1820, containing- many names of old 
surveys; "Minutes and Fee Book," from 1792 to 1796, of 
about four hundred pag-es; "Tavern License Book," from 
1843 to 1850, about one hundred pag-es; "Fee Book" of 
1820, 1821 and 1822; "Chancery Cases," from 1843 to 1861; 
"Execution Book," of 1818, 1819, 1820 and 1821; "Superior 
Court Proceeding's," from 1809 to 1831; "Execution Book," 
from 1814 to 1818; "Surveyor's Book," from 1793 to 1803; 
"Surveyor's Book," from 1804 to 1824; "Surveyor's Book," 
from 1778 to 1793; "Fee Book," from 1814 to 1817; "War- 
rant Book," from 1788 to 1810. This was connected with 
the state land office, and contains a record of all state lands 
patented in Hampshire county during- the years which it 
covers. It will thus be seen that there are many g-aps 
which will probably remain forever unfilled. It is said 
that records of some of the earliest courts have never been 
deposited in Romney; but that they were kept in the pri- 
vate office of Lord Fairfax, and they may have been long- 
since lost beyond recovery. 



CHAPTER XXXIV, 



«o> 

RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS, 

BY H. L. SWISHER. 

The pioneer settler had not spent many moons in his 
rude cabin before the pioneer minister visited his abode. 
It would be hard indeed to discover the name of the first 
minister who braved the dangers of the forest to point men 
to a higher and nobler life. Nor is it definitely known 
what denomination first built a church within the present 
limits of Hampshire county. 

This chapter is compiled from such data as could be 
gathered from histories and from ministers and members 
of the different denominations. No particular order was 
observed in the treatment of the different churches, but 
this chapter progressed as information was received. If 
more space is given to the treatment of one church than 
another it is because more data was furnished the author 
by those interested in that particular church. 

Protestant Episcopal Church.— The county of 

Hampshire was formed into a parish by this church in 
1753, When Hardy county was cut off from Hampshire 
in 1785 a new parish was formed in that county. Some- 
time in 1771-72 the Reverend Messrs. Ogilvie, Manning- 
and Kenner were ordained in England for the church work 
in Hampshire county. Of these three Mr. Manning only 
reached the county, and the success or failure of his work 
is not recorded. About 1812 the Reverend Mr. Reynolds 
had charge of the parish of Hampshire, and quite soon 
after that Bishop Moore of Virginia, ordained the Reverend 
Norman Nash for church work in Hampshire, and such 



374 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 

was his zeal that unexpected success crowned his efforts. 
With his own skillful hands he helped to erect one if not 
two churches in this county. Zion, near North river mills, 
stands today as a monument to his skill and industry. 
After at least sixty years silence the voice of the Episcopal 
ministry was again heard at Zion a few years ago, when 
Bishop Peterkin and Reverend Gibbons held service at that 
place. Service is now held there quite frequently. It is 
probable also that Reverend Nash built a frame church at 
the town of Frankfort. Rev. Sylvester Nash, a nephew of 
the above-named gentleman, succeeded his uncle and often 
preached in the log churches he had erected. Through 
the untiring efforts of the last mentioned gentleman the 
old brick church in Romney was built. This church was 
partly destroyed by fire just previous to the Civil war. 
The remaining walls are now incorporated in the public 
school building- which stands on the lot formerly owned by 
the church. Succeeding Mr. Nash came Rev. Mr. Hedges, 
and after him Rev. Mr. Irish. On October 12, 1878, Rev. 
J. Dudley Ferguson took charge of the work in Hampshire 
and remained until his successor, Rev. J. Tottenham 
Loftus, arrived in January, 1881. He, on the sixth of Sep- 
tember of the same year, received injuries in a railroad ac- 
cident from which he died in England in 1883. After an 
interregnum of nearly two and a-half years, Rev. Samuel H. 
Griffith took charge and remained one year. The Rev. G. 
A. Gibbons of Fairmont, W. Va., was then called and took 
charge of the work in Hampshire and adjoining counties 
July 2, 1885. The same year the brick church, St. Stephens, 
was built in Romney, chiefly through the efforts and liber- 
ality of the late J. C. Corell. This church was consecrated 
November 13, 1887, Bishop Pekerkin and the rector, Rev. 
G. A. Gibbons, officiating-. St. Stephens has at present 
twenty communicants and a Sunday school of five teachers 
.and twenty scholars, E. O. Wirgman, superintendent. 
In November, 1835, Rev. Gibbons and Bishop Peterkin 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 



375 



visited the McGills and Russells, near Okonoko, this 
county. During- this visit they for the first time conducted 
Episcopal service in the M. E. church, south, on the Levels, 
about a mile from Levels cross roads. This service was 
repeated from time to time until this mission grew to have 
twenty communicants. At length the beautiful Epiphany 
church was built, chiefly through the well-directed efforts 
of Miss Hester McGill and other faithful adherents, and 
bv the kindness of Wm. L. Davis of Rochester, New York, 
who generously donated his work while building the church, 
epiphany has twenty communicants and a Sunday school 
of twenty scholars and live teachers, Henry McGill 
Russell, superintendent. 

We gather, then, that this church formed the parish of 
Hampshire in 1753. It has been served by ten clergymen, 
Messrs. Manning, Reynolds, Nash, Nash, Hedges, Irish, 
Ferguson, Loftus, Griffith and Gibbons. There have been 
six churches, four of which, Zion, Frankfort, St. Stephen 
and Epiphany, are still standing. The old brick in Romney 
and a church on North .river have been destroyed. 

\_Ev angelical Lutheran Church. — In the last 
quarter of the eighteenth century a congregation known 
as the "German Churches" was organized at a point about 
four miles from Capon Springs on Capon river. These 
"German Churches" were German Reformed or Lutheram 
congregations. The house in which these congregations 
worshiped for a full half century was built of hewn logs. 
It is still standing and is used as a sexton's house. The 
official records date back as far as 1786, and in 1836 inter- 



esting centennial exercises were held in Hebron, the name 
of the present Lutheran church at that place. For a num- 
'.ber of }^ears the two denominations had but one pastor, 
who was sometimes a German Reformed minister and 
sometimes a Lutheran. 

The preachers in "those early days served this congrega- 
tion in connection with churches in the valley of Virginia. 



376 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

Rev. A. Reck, a Lutheran minister residing- in Winchester^ 
became pastor of the Capon church, as it was then called, 
and since that time only Lutheran ministers have served 
as pastors. The present church, Hebron, was erected in 
1849, under the ministry of H. J. Richardson. A visit to 
the cemetery of this pioneer org-anization reveals the fact 
that the Swishers, Rudolphs, Klines, Brills, Sechrists and 
Baumgardners were the first worshipers, and their de- 
scendants to the third and fourth g'eneration worship there 
today. Mrs. Maud L. Michael, the wife of the present 
pastor, is of the fourth generation, being a great-grand- 
daughter of George Rudolph, sr. There are but three of 
the pastors who served Hebron church now living. These 
are Reverends P. Miller, P. J. Wade and the present pas- 
tor, Rev. D. W. Michael. Rev. W. G. Keil, who was pas- 
tor at Hebron from 1822 to 1827, died at Senacaville, Ohio, 
in 1891, in his ninety-second year. In 1867 the member- 
ship of this church was the highest it has ever been, 106 
being- then enrolled. 

St. James, formerly known as Laurel Chapel, was organ- 
ized in 1866. There is also a congregation at Rio, on North 
river, known as North River Evangelical Lutheran church. 
It was founded by Rev. H. J. Richardson in 1849. The 
house of worship is owned jointly by Lutherans and Pres- 
byterians. 

Regal cir Primitive Baptist Church. — Three 
congregations of the Primitive of Regular Baptists were 
early formed in the limits of what was then Hampshire. 
The first of these was at North River and was established 
in 1787 by B. Stone, with twenty-six members. Crooked 
Run had forty-four members to start with and was founded 
by B. Stone, 1790. Pater son's Creek congregation was 
formed in 1808, by John Munroe, with sixteen members. 
All these belonged to the Ketocton association. Robert B. 
Semple, in his ''History of the Rise and Progress of the 
Baptists in Virginia,'' published in 1810, speaking of the 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 377 



above-named organizations, says: "North River, Crooked- 
Run and Patterson's Creek are new churches, concerning 
which nothing- interesting- is known, except that they are 
preached to by Elder John Munroe, a practitioner of 
physic. Doctor Munroe has long- been eng-ag-ed in the 
heavenly employment of dispensing- the gospel, and was r 
when a resident of Fauquier, as well as since his removal 
to Hampshire, a very successful preacher of the g-ospei. 1 ' 

Crooked Run, one of these early congregations, is now 
known as Union church, and is situated hear the North- 
western g-rade, one and a half miles from Pleasant Dale, 
and one mile from Augusta. There are three other 
churches of this denomination in the county known as Lit- 
tle Capon, Mount Bethel or Branch Mountain and Grassy 
Lick. Elder B. W. Power is pastor of these congrega- 
tions at the present time. The total membership is about 
sixty. 

Messrs. John Arnold, John Munroe, Herbert Cool, Jesse 
Munroe, George Loy, Benjamin Corn well, John Corder, 
and T. N. Alderton have all served in the capacity of elder 
for the Regular Primitive Baptist church in Hampshire 
county. 

Presbyterian Church. — Very soon after the Revo- 
lutionary war ministers of the Presbyterian faith preached 
at different points in this county. Mount Bethel, at Three 
churches on Branch mountain, was Organized in 1792. 
The same year the Romney church was founded, but it 
was reorganized in 1833. Rev. John Lyle w^as the minister 
for the congregations of Frankfort, Romney and Spring- 
field when the Winchester Presbytery was formed in 1794. 
This presbytery had five ministers and sixteen churches, 
viz: "Rev. Moses Hoge, pastor of Carmel (Shepherds- 
town) congregation; Rev. Nash Legrand, of Winchester, 
Opequon and Cedar creek; Rev. William Hill, of Charles- 
town and Hopewell (Smithfield); Rev. William Williamson, 
of South river (Front Royal) and Flint run; and Rev. John 



378 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 

Lyle, of Frankfort, Romne}^ and Springfield; with the fol- 
lowing- vacancies, viz: Middletown (Gerardstown) and 
Back creek, united, able to support a minister; Concrete 
(in Hardy county), able; and Powell's fort and Lost river, 
not able." 

Rev. John Lyle died in 1807 and was buried at Spring- 
field. After him, Rev. James Black preached at Romney, 
Springfield and Moorefield as stated supply. 'Rev. William 
H. Foote took charge of the work in 1819, and continued 
many years. Previous to 1833 ail the churches in the 
county were included in the Mount Bethel congregation. 
In that year, October 19, we find the following entry upon 
the minute book: "Sufficient evidence appearing before 
the Presbytery that Mount Bethel church desires a 
division, therefore, Resolved, That the name of Mount 
Bethel church be changed to that of Romney, Mr. Foote 
continuing the pastor of the same; and that Mr. Foote 
have leave to form separate organizations at Spring-field, 
Mount Bethel, North river and Patterson's creek." 

Springfield was organized in 1833 at the time of the 
reorganization of Romney. Seven years before, in 1826, a 
church had been organized at Bloomery. North river 
church was organized in 1833. Stone Quarry, near 
French's Depot, is a flourishing congregation with a con- 
siderable membership: ' The last two churches of this 
faith, Westminster, at Capon bridge, and the one at Rio 
were organized in 1894, making eight churches of this 
denomination in the county. The combined membership 
at the present time is three hundred and sixty-nine; num- 
ber of Sunday school teachers, eleven; scholars, two hun- 
dred and twelve. 

The Presbyterian church has always been closely con- 
nected with the various educational movements in the 
county. Some of its ministers have been teachers of won- 
derful ability and wide reputation. 

Methodist Episcopal Church, South.— -The 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 



379 



foundation of this church in the county is coteraporaneous 
with the foundation of the Methodist Episcopal church, for 
until recent years the two '.organizations Were one. The 
history of the one is, therefore, the history of the other 
until comparatively recent years. It was in 1844 that a plan 
of separation was agreed upon by the churches, and in 
1846 this separation took place. Conferences on the bor- 
der were allowed to chose whether they would adhere to 
the north or south. Baltimore conference was one of these, 
and its decision was to remain with the northern branch 
of the church. So many of the members of the Methodist 
church in this county were southern in feeling that, 
thoug-h the Baltimore conference "was yet nominally in con- 
trol, they desired the churches in which they worshiped 
to belong* to the Methodist Episcopal church, south. 
There were many disputes as to which of the' churches 
the property belonged, but in most cases these were 
decided in favor of the Southern church. The Baltimore 
-conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, then 
took these- congregations under its charge. 

In 1845 Springfield was in' Winchester district and. John 
Smith was presiding elder. The annual conference, which 
met at Baltimore for that year, appointed Revs. C. Parki- 
son and J. W. Hedges as ministers to Springfield circuit. 
Rev.' James A. Duncan is thought to have been the first 
minister to this county after the churches were definitely 
and completely separated. Mr. Duncan came in 1846. 
Among those who early supported the Southern Methodist 
church in Hampshire county especial mention should be 
made of Geo. W. Washington, who lived on the South 
branch a few miles below Romney. 

Moorefield district at the present time is presided ever 
by Rev. Geo. H. Zimmerman. There are six circuits of 
this district which touch Hampshire. Romney circuit, 
with Rev. C. Sydenstricker in charge, has the following 
churches: Romney, Fair view, Ebenezer, St. Luke's, Sui- 



380 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE.' 



phur Springs, Duncan Memorial, Trinity and Marvin. 
There is also at present a congregation at Number Six, 
making nine congregations and eight churches on this cir- 
cuit. Capon Bridge circuit has for its present pastor Rev. 
W. H. Ballengee. It is made up of the following churches: 
Capon, Bridge, North River Mills and Green Mound. 
There are also congregations at the following places: 
Augusta, Sedan, Park's Hollow, Sandy Ridge and Capon 
chapel. Rev. W. A. Sites is at present in charge of Slanes- 
ville circuit, which was cut off from Springfield circuit 
about five years ago. There are seven churches on this 
circuit, known as Mc Cool's Chapel, Bethel, Levels, Wesley 
Chapel, Branch Mountain, Salem and Forks of Capon. 
Since the cutting off of Slanesville circuit Springfield cir- 
cuit has but one church in this county. This is located in 
the town of Spring-field. There is also a congregation at 
Green Spring. Rev. J. W. Mitchell and Rev. W. J. Kight 
are the pastors in charge. Hardy circuit touches this 
county with but two churches. One of these is Mt. Zion, 
the other Hott's chapel, Rev. C. H. Cannon pastor in charg-e. 
Wardensville circuit has just one church in this county, 
Shiloli. There are, however, congregations at Capon 
Spring's and Mt. Airy. This circuit is at present minis- 
tered to by Rev. C. L. Potter. The Methodist Episcopal 
church south has at present in the county twenty-two 
ch urcne s and thirty-one congregations. Besides a hand- 
some district parsonage in Romney, there are circuit par- 
sonages at Springfield, Capon Bridge and Romney. There 
are about one thousand three hundred and eighty-five mem- 
bers in the county. The latest minutes show twenty-four 
Sunday schools with over a thousand scholars. There are 
also six Ep worth Leagues. 

The following is a list of presiding elders who have served 
since 1866 in this district: South Branch district, John 
C. Dice, 1866-1870; Moorefield district, David Thomas, 
1871-1875; P. H. Whisner, 1875-1878; Rumsey Smithson, 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 



1878-1882; W. G. Hammond, 1882-1886; S. G. Fergus. 
1886-1890; Geo. T. Tyler, 1890-1894; Geo. H. Zimmerma 
1894-1898. 

Evangelical Association. — Rev. Moses Bowers ill 
company with Rev. Henniberger came to Hampshire and 
preached in the interest of the Evang-elical Association as 
early as 1825. Rev. Mr. Bowers was a man of pure char- 
acter and was commonly spoken of as the sainted Moses 
Bowers. 

Rev. Jacob Shemp was the first preacher in the Grassy 
Lick region. He first held meetings just below where 
Bethel church now stands, on the creek which flows near 
the Shingleton property. The Grassy Lick Run church 
was built about the year 1855, by Rev. Elijah Beaty, who 
was then preacher in charge. He afterwards deeded, the 
property to conference, asking- no return for his labor and 
expense. The Bethel Church property was purchased in 
1842. It belonged at first to Abigail and Elisha Pownell, 
who conveyed it June 18, 1831, to Martha and William 
Shingleton. They in turn conveyed it to the trustees of 
the church. These were Jonathan Pownell, Joseph Haines 
and William Poling. This latter deed was recorded March 
9, 1843. Rev. Daniel Long preached at Bethel in 1845 and 
continued for some time to preach at different points in 
the county. Another of these early preachers was Rev. 
William Poling, who served as early as 1847. He after- 
wards went to Minnesota as a missionary, He is at pres- 
ent living at Dayton, Ohio and is nearly seventy-five years 
old. Rev. Daniel Poling joined the conference in 1855, and 
afterwards became presiding- elder. Succeeding Rev. 
Poling came Rev. John T. Boles, the great revivalist. 

In later years the following named gentlemen have 
served in the capacity of pastors of this denominntion 
within the limits of Hampshire: Reverends Reisinger, 
Treseith, Ellen berger, John Curry, Charles Floto, Dickey, 
John Mull, John Winger and Berkley. After the civil war 



HISTORY OF . HAMPSHIRE. 
/. Hammer came to this, circuit but was not well 

Rev. S. M. Baurngardner then took charge and built up 
the church wonderfully. For four years previous to 1897 
the church was without a pastor. At present Rev. Frank 
Van Gorder is in charge. Romney circuit, as this portion 
of the work is called, belongs to Somerset district of Pitts- 
burg- district. Rev. S. M. Baurngardner is presiding- 
elder. There are at the present time two churches owned 
exclusively by the Evangelical association and they have 
an associate interest on two more. There are seven places 
where preaching- is held. About fifty persons belong* to 
the Association in this county. 

Methodist Episcopal Church.— Among the first 
churches that planted their banners in America was the 
Methodist. Long* before the Indians had departed to 
leave the white settler in peaceful and undisputed 
possession of the country, the missionaries of this church 
were at work spreading- good news from a far country. 

Virginia was early a scene of their labors. In 1771 
Robert Williams, "the Apostle of Methodism in Virginia, " 
was busy in the field, At the formation of the first Amer- 
ican Methodist conference, which took place in Philadel- 
phia in 1773, it was shown there were one hundred Meth- 
odists in Virginia. Likewise the work was early begun in 
this county. Who the first minister of this church in 
Hampshire was cannot be positively stated. The Rev. J. 
J. Jacob, who lived near where Green Spring, on the Balti- 
more and Ohio railroad, now stands, was licensed to preach 
in 1789. 

Bishop Asbury held a session of the Baltimore confer- 
ence at Mr. Jacob's place in 1792. He is also said to have 
preached several times in the South branch valley about 
this time. It is said that the only minister of any denomi- 
nation who remained in Romney all through the Civil war, 
was Rev. O. P. Wirgman, of the Methodist church. The 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 



383 



Baltimore conference, to which the work in this county has 
always belonged, wasestablished in 1784, on Christmas day. 
Methodist churches and congregations continued to in- 
crease in number and enlarge in influence to a wonderful 
degree. At the close of the late war the greater number 
of church organizations in the county adhered to the 
southern division of the church until at present there are 
but two Methodist Episcopal churches in the county. 

One of these is the Romney church, with Rev. M. L. 
Beal as present pastor. This congregation belongs to 
Romney circuit, Frederick district of the Baltimore confer- 
ence. A list of the pastors who have served on Romney 
circuit since 1875 includes the following- gentlemen: 
Reverends D. B. Winstead, Ed. C. Young, H. P. West, F. 
G. Porter, H. C. MeDaniel, Pasco, William Harris, W. A. 
Carroll, Henry Man, John F. Dayton anr J. I. Winger. 

The other church of this denomination is located at 
Levels Cross Roads. Rev. Milson Thomas is pastor at 
present. This church belongs to Paw Paw circuit in 
Frederick district of Baltimore conference. 

Disciples of Christ or Christians— -The Church 
of the Disciples was first organized in this county by G. W. 
Abell in 1853. This organization was at Sandy Ridge, on 
the Springfield grade, two miles east of North river mills. 
Prior to the organization of the church several ministers 
of this faith labored in the county. About the year 1820 
Thomas Campbell, father of the illustrious Alexander 
Campbell, founder of Bethany college and the person to 
whom the Christian church largely owes its present power 
and success, preached in an old school house on Sandy 
ridge. This old school house is now in ruins. It stood 
near the present Sandy ridge church. Other preachers 
in these early times were Rev. Robert Ferguson and his 
eloquent son Jesse, who afterwards became an infidel. A 
Rev. Jackson and Rev. William Lane also belong to the 
pioneer period of the church's history. 



384 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Since the Civil war Reverends G. W. Abell, John Pirkey, 
Frederick Booth, J. A. Cowgill and. R. C. Cave of St. Louis, 
Missouri, have served, in the county. 

About 1868 an organization was effected, at Pine Grove 
school house, which was afterwards removed, to Zion 
church, two miles west of North river mills. Somewhat 
later a church was organized, at Barrettesville, now 
Aug-usta. In recent years the following-named, ministers 
have served, in this county: Revs. P. S. Rhodes, G. W. 
Ogden, W. E. Kincaid, Jacob Walters, J. A. Spencer, J. D. 
Dillard, J. D. Hamaker, W. S. Hoye, D. H. Rodes, J. P. 
liawley, C. S. Lucas and J. J. Spencer. In 1896 a church 
was organized in Lupton's Hollow and a house of worship 
erected the same year at the junction of the Beck's Gap 
road with the Lupton's Hollow road. 

The membership of the Disciples church in this county 
at the present time is three hundred. There is a Sunday 
school at each preaching place in the county. The minis- 
ters now serving the congregations are Revs. Alexander 
Khun and W. H. Patterson. 

Ou Cllcevs. — There was a congregation of Quakers in 
the county quite early in its history. This congregation 
"built a church at Quaker Hollow in Capon district, near 
where John Powell and George Slonaker now live. 

It is very probable that this church was established more 
than a hundred years ago by Quaker emigrants from the 
Shenandoah valley, as these people were among the very 
early settlers of that region. Thomas Chaukley, a mem- 
ber of the church, wrote an official letter in 1738 to the 
"dear friends who inhabit Shenandoah and Opequon." 
Among other things he says: 1 "I desire you to be very careful 
(being far and back inhabitants) to keep a friendly cor- 
respondence with the native Indians, giving them no occa- 
sion of offense; they being a cruel and merciless enemy 
where they think they are wronged or d.efrauded of their 

rights, as woful experience hath taught in Carolina, Vir- 

v 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 



385 



ginia and Maryland, and especially in New England." 
Further on in the same letter he adds: ''If you believe 
yourselves to be within the bounds of William Penn's pat- 
ent from King- Charles the Second, which will be hard for 
you to prove, you being* far southward of his line; yet, if 
done, that will be no consideration with the Indians with- 
out a purchase from them, except you will go about to con- 
vince them by fire and sword, contrary to our principles; 
and if that were done they would ever be implacable ene- 
mies and the land could never be enjoyed in peace. 1 ' It is 
quite probable that these people perfected one of the first 
church organizations in this county. 

German Baptist Br ether; en. —The word "Dunk- 

ard," which is commonly applied to this church, is not cor- 
rect. The word was originally "Tunker, " from the Ger- 
man word "tunken," to dip. It was applied to the Breth- 
ren as a term of derision because they baptized by dipping", 
English corruption of the original g'ives us the present 
word "Dunkard." Properly speaking-, however, there is 
no such church as the Dunkard or Tunker, for the incor- 
porate name of this body of Christians is "German Bap- 
tist Brethexen." 

The Beaver run congregation now in Mineral, but once 
in Hampshire, was the first organization of this church in 
the county. More than one hundred years ago three 
Arnold brothers moved herefrom Frederick county, Mary- 
land. Two of these brothers, Samuel and Daniel, were 
ministers, and soon began active work in behalf of their 
church. Dwelling houses were the only meeting places for 
many years until the first Beaver Run church was built. 
•This church was used for nearly fifty years as a place of 
worship, but in 1876 it was torn down and the present 
brick church was built. The second generation of minis- 
ters in this section included Joseph Arnold, Benjamin 
Arnold, Jacob Biser and many others. At the present time 



386 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



about fifty members of the Beaver run congregation live 
in Hampshire county. 

The Pine Church congregation, partly in Hampshire 
and part}' in Hardy, dates its origin from mission work 
done by the Beaver run congregation. The Pine Church 
congregation was formerly Nicholas, organized about 1870 
by Dr. Lea therm an, who entered the ministry near that 
time. Pine Church is owned in partnership by several 
churches, but the Bretheren are the largest shareholders. 
A small portion of the Bean settlement congregation live 
in Hampshire and the others in Hardy. This church, 
which also owes its origin to the missionary labors of 
Beaver Run church, is near Inkerman. Its history extends 
over some thirty years. 

The Tear coat congregation is the only one wholly within 
the present limits of the county. Its origin dates back 
about forty-five years. Several families connected with 
the church early emigrated from the Valley of Virginia to 
Pleasant Dale and the Levels. Abraham Miller, Isaac 
Miller, William Roby and Abraham Detrick, who lived on 
the Levels, were ministers for years in that neighborhood, 
but finally moved to the west. The church now near 
Pleasant Dale was built after the Civil war. There are 
at present two hundred and forty members living in the 
county. There are also seven ministers, two of whom are 
elders. The Home Mission board of the First district of 
West Virginia is prosecuting work on the part of this 
church at various points in the county. 

Mission Baptists— -Through the preaching of 
Whitfield in New England what was known as the New- 
light-stir, was originated. Members of all churches, who 
felt the need of vital and experimental religion, separated 
from the established churches and formed themselves into 
a society which about the year 1744 was given the name of 
Separates. It is from this movement that the Mission 
Baptists have sprung. One of the early preachers of this 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 387 

church organization was Rev. Shubal Stearns, who beg-an 
preaching" in 1745. He felt himself called to preach to the 
people in the "far west." Accordingly he set out from 
New England in 1754 together with a few of his members. 
They first halted at Opequon in Berkeley county. Here 
they found a Baptist church already established and under 
the care of S, Henton. Here, also, he fell in with Rev. 
Daniel Marshall, a Baptist minister who had just returned 
from a missionary visit to the Indians. These two then 
joined their companies and moved to Cacapon in Hamp- 
shire county about 1755, This was the first church organ- 
ization in this county. Rev. Stearns and his companions 
did not stay long on Cacapon but moved to North Carolina. 

There are at present four congregations of the Mission 
Baptist church in this county. They are named and loca- 
ted as follows: Bethel, on Grassy Lick; Zoar, near Mt. 
Zion; Salem, at Mechanicsburg; and Little Capon church, 
at Barnes' mills. Rev. Samuel Umstot is at present the 
pastor in charge. 

United Brethren. — Parts of four circuits of this 
church are represented in the county, with a considerable 
membership. Preachers of this faith have been laboring 
in the county for many years and a fair degree of success 
has crowned their efforts. 

Mormons. — There is no regular organized church of 
this denomination in the county, nor is there any estab- 
lished preaching- place. From time to time itinerant elders' 
of the Latter Day Saints or Mormons preach at different 
places in the count} 7 and have made some converts. 

'Roman Catholic Church —In- the neighborhood 
of Barnes' mills there are a number of members of this 
church. They are visited from time to time by priests of 
that faith and services are held at intervals. There is no 
church building or regular church organization. 

The Christian Church —This is a different organ- 
ization from the Disciples church, though the two are some- 



388 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

times confused. A church was built hj this body about 
the year 1818, on Timber ridge, seven miles from Capon 
bridge. The lot was given by William Groves. The first 
person buried in the cemetery at this church was Mary 
Spaid. The beautiful brick church which now stands on 
the site of the former log structure was built in 1875. 
There is an especiallj' large congregation at this point. 
Reverends Isaac N. Walter, Miller, and Enoch Harvey are 
among those who have been ministers of this church in the 
county. 

As a closing to this chapter the following extract from 
the diary of Rev. William H. Foote, is appended as giving 
a clear idea of the work of a missionary in Hampshire at 
an early day. This extract comes under the date of No- 
vember 16, 1819: 

"I think I can never forget the events of this cool, chilly 
day. The morning was lowery, threatening rain, and the 
clouds riding low, gave to the Capon mountains back of 

Mr. S 's a more sable hue. They had always a dreary 

appearance, but now looked melancholy, as if draped in 
mourning. I set out after breakfast to pass over them and 
wind amongst them to find N — L — , to whom I had sent on 
an appointment. The wind whistled a November tone 
among the fallen and falling leaves, and now and then a 
lowering cloud let fall a few drops as I wound my solitary 
way over and amongst the Capon ridges of barren soil. 
Few houses were to be seen from the road, which is sel- 
dom passed by wagons. At the second house I was to in- 
quire. The way measured a dreary length before I came 
to the second house. Then I was told to leave the road and 
take a horse path to N — L — 's. I left notice for preaching, 
which I found was entirely news to the people, and turned 
in among the thick pines and followed the spine of a ridge. 
I had proceeded not far before I met an old man riding a 
small black horse, his gray hairs from his bent shoulders 
hanging near the saddle-bow. 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 



389 



"I had approached near before he saw me. His bridle 
and saddle were like his raiment, the relics of a past age. 
A hat in keeping- with his costume crowned his head, which 
was bent near to his saddle. As I came near he raised 
himself a little, for it seemed he could not straighten him- 
self, and gave a keen look from a bright black eye, which 
glistened amongst his long- grey hair and beard. As he 
answered my inquiry, 'Is this the way to N — L — 's?' 'I am 
N — 1# — ; what do you seek?' 'lam a missionary going there 
to preach.' 'A missionary!' said he, looking more intently. 
'A missionary! who sent you;. who are you?' I told him my 
name and by whom sent. 'Sent by Wilson!' said he, hold- 
ing out his hand. 'Welcome! It is now a long time since 
missionaries came here. They used to come. There 
were Hill, and Glass, and Lyle; but none has been here 
for years. Can you go home with me? I was going to a 
neighbor's. When do you want to preach? Have you no 
appointment?' 'None; I sent you one for tonight.' 'Well, I 
never heard of it, but I will send out now; it is not noon 
yet.' So he turned and led me along a narrow, winding 
path, questioning and talking, and expressing his satisfac- 
tion that a missionary had come from his own and his 
father's church. 

"Then suddenly turning we were on the brow of a steep 
precipice of no ordinary height. At our feet lay a beauti- 
ful scene. The Capon, running with fine stream, was in 
full view, making a semicircular bend of more than a mile, 
the land within the bend, level, and in beautiful cultivation, 
little plots of plowed land, of grass, of orchards scattered 
over it, a few buildidgs, and near to us a little mill. The 
Capon almost surrounded the little spot in the shape of a 
horse shoe, and was itself hedged in by a higher precipice 
of similar form. At our feet the Capon, at our left a con- 
tinuation of the precipice on which we stood, beyond the 
little plot of land a high ridge of rocky mountains, and as 
far as the e} r e could reach all round tops of ridges, wild 



390 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



and fierce, and dark as the clouds that lowered about them. 
'That house is mine,' said he, pointing to one whose smoke 
seemed to come near us, almost overhung- by the precipice, 
as it stood on the brink of the river. He led me along- 
down a winding- horse path. 'Are there any religious 
people here?' 'Yes, a few.' Fit retreat thought'!, for 
persecuted religion; a residence becoming- the Waldenses. 
Busy in gazing around I felt my horse stumbling-; and by 
a fortunate fall up the precipice side felt thankful my fall 
had not been on the other side of my horse as it must have 
probably landed • me in the stream below, so near were 
we to the edge of the shelving projecting rocks. I walked 
to the bottom, feeling more secure on my feet than on my 
pony's back. I could not keep my eyes from running to 
the immense precipice of rocks that surrounded me as I 
approached the house which stood near the horse shoe 
neck of land and which was above half surrounded by it. 
Says the old man as we entered the house: 'This is a 
missionary come to preach; put away your work, clear the 
room, get something to eat, and send out word to the 
neighbors.' The house was small, one room sufficed for 
eating and cooking and working. The spinning wheels 
were laid aside, and the cooking commenced. I took one 
seat in the corner of the ample chimney, near me were 
some cooking utensils. I observed in the other corner the 
remaining- cooking furniture and various preparations of 
the family. The chimney had its supply of choice sticks 
of various timber taking the smoke, drying- for use. 'Go, 
son,' said he to a stout young lad, 'go, son, and tell neigh- 
bor — , and tell him to tell his neighbor there will be 

preaching- here, and go by neighbor and tell him the 

same, and if you see any one tell him the same, and I will 
give notice at the mill.' 

''Towards .middle of the afternoon I looked out and saw 
persons coming in different directions down the moun- 
tains. I had seen so few places of residence I could not 



RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 391 

contrive whence tli.ey came. Looking- to the old man, half 
in jest. 'Whei-j ^ ^ these people come from? from the 
rocks?' 'No, fr ' 1 ■ eir houses,' half angiw at the ques- 
tion. But his frown soon passed away. I preached from 
the words, 'Fear not, little flock, for -it is your Father's 
good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ' After the congre- 
gation had dispersed I found that the old man had fulfilled 
in part his duty as an elder in the church by assembling* 
his neighbors and reading- to them and praying- with them, 
some few of whom are religious. 'My father and grand- 
father,' said he, 'were pious. My grandfather came here 
and chose this spot in preference to any of the Valley of 
Virginia, because he thought it more healthy. There he 
w T as driven away by the Indians — here he lived — here my 
father lived. They taught me my duty. They were French 
Protestants.' 

"Something was said about his children. 'Some are in the 
western country, some are here at home, and one is dead. 
He was my best son;' here he paused, and I saw by the 
flashing light that tears were stealing down his cheeks. 
'I never liked that war. I liked peace. But when a draft 
came they took my son. He came home and told me he 
was taken and must go to Norfolk. I never liked that war. 
I went out and prayed for him. He was a good boy; he 
never disobeyed me in his life. I came in and took down 
my best rifle — a true shot — "Here," said I, "my sou, take 
this, be a good soldier; your grandfather fought the In- 
dians, and you must g-o and fight the British; be a good boy; 
if you go to fight don't run." The first I heard of him after 
he got to camp at Norfolk was that he was dead.' " 



river. 



CHAPTER XXXV, 

LANDS AND LANDOWNERS. 

BY HU MAXWELL. 

There was a time when every acre of land in what is now~ 
Hampshire county belonged to one man, Lord Fairfax. 
The purpose of this chapter is to give a brief account of 
his lands and the manner by- which they passed into the 
possession of others, tog-ether with the names of some of 
the early land-owners, and where their possessions were 
situated. Before proceeding- to do this, it is proper to 
state, once more, that Hampshire county was once larger 
than at present, and that lands, now beyond the county 
borders, were once within the county, and in this chapter 
will be so considered. Lord Fairfax's estate consisted of 
the territory now contained in the following counties of 
Virginia and West Virginia: Lancaster, Northumberland, 
Kichmondf^Westmoreland, Stafford, King G-eorge, Prince 
William, Fairfax, Loudoun, Fauquier, Culpeper, Clarke, 
Madison, Page, Shenandoah, Frederick, Jefferson, Berke- 
ley, Morg-an, Mineral, Hampshire, Hardy and Grant, 
twenty-three in all. The total number of acres was little 
short of six millions. This estate was not granted to Lord 
Fairfax in person, but to Lord Hopton, Lord Germyn, 
Lord Culpeper, Lord Berkeley, Sir William Morton, Sir 
Dudley Wyatt and Thomas Culpeper. This grant was 
made by Charles II. The lands were bounded by the Rap- 
pahannock on one side, by the Potomac on the other, and 
by a line drawn from the head of the Rappahannock to the 
head of the Potomac, then called the Quiriough. This 
name was given to the Potomac beloy/ its confluence with 



LANDS AND LAND-OWNERS. 393 

the Shenandoah; above the mouth of the Shenandoah it 
was called Cohong-oroota; and the South branch was called 
Wappacomo. In granting- this large body of land, King- 
Charles expressed the hope that it would be speedily set- 
tled by Christian people. The king- reserved one-fifth of 
all the gold and one-tenth of all the silver which might be 
discovered on the grant. The proprietors were required 
to pay a yearly rental equivalent to. thirty-three dollars. 
This was to be paid at Jamestown "on the day of the feast 
of St. John the Baptist." Lord Hopton sold his interest 
to John Frethewey. There was some misu rider standing" 
concerning- the grant, and the king expressed his willing- 
ness to give a new charter, if the old one were surrendered. 
A new one was accordingly granted, authorizing- the pro- 
prietors to found schools, colleges and courts. There was 
one condition, however, which was not satisfactory. The 
king stipulated that the patent should cease on any part of 
the land "not possessed and occupied" within twenty-one 
years. This condition was subsequently modified. The 
. proprietors were strictly forbidden to meddle with military 
affairs. Virginia had full power to levy taxes upon the 

f land, and it was subject to the laws of that state the same 
as any other lands. Receiving a good, offer for their hold- 
ings the other proprietors sold all of them to Lord Cul- 
peper, son of Lord John Culpeper. Thus the entire estate 
came into the possession of one man, and from him de- 
scended by inheritance to Lord Thomas Fairfax. The 
title to the land was questioned, and adventurers took pos- 
session of larg-e tracts. Law suits resulted, some.of which 

• were in the courts fifty years, long- after the parties to the 
original suits were dead. Some of these suitors had the 
title to their lands confirmed by the assembly, but the 
transaction appears to have been in the nature of a com- 
promise to which ' both parties consented, for it was or- 
dered that such persons might hold their lands, 'but must 



394 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



pay the yearly rent to Lord Fairfax, the same as those 
who had purchased their lands of him. 

Lord Fairfax never married. He was a scholar and man 
of letters, tall, dark of complexion, usually greedy for 
money, but at times giving" away farms to those of his ten- 
ants or servants who pleased him. He made a trip from 
England to America to see the land which had fallen to him 
by inheritance. He was so well pleased with it that he de- 
cided to make his home in Virginia and enjoy his vast 
estate. Pie arranged his business in England, and about 
1747 came to Virginia. He lived awhile at Belvoir. He 
was a middle-aged man, about fifty-seven years old at that 
time. Lawrence Washington, a brother of General Wash- 
ing-ton, had married a near relative of Lord Fairfax and 
this brought the Fairfaxes and the Washing-tons into close 
friendship, and to this friendship great events in history 
may be traced. George Washing-ton at that time, 1748, 
was sixteen years of age, educated only in the rudiments 
of reading, writing, arithmetic and surveying. Lord Fair- 
fax had such confidence in him that he employed him to 
survey the vast estate. Washington's salary for this work 
ranged from seventeen to twenty-two dollars a day. In 
addition to this, both he and his brother Lawrence obtained 
valuable tracts of land within the former limits of Hamp- 
shire county on the most favorable terms. In this work 
Washington laid the foundation of his fortune; built up a 
robust and powerful constitution, and gained that acquaint- 
ance with the wilderness west of the Blue Ridge which 
caused him some years later to be sent with important dis- 
patches to the French forts above Pittsburg. This led to 
his military career, and all its grand achievements followed. 
Washington, the youthful surveyor, climbed the mountains 
and crossed the valleys of Hampshire, mapping the estate 
and setting landmarks, and the accuracy of his work has 
been a marvel to surveyors ever since. Speaking of his 
occupation at that time, and comparing it with the great 



LANDS AND LAND-OWNERS. 395 

congress in Europe, in session at the time Washing-ton was 
in the woods of Hampshire, George Bancroft,, the venera- 
ble historian, speaks thus: 

"At the very time of the congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, the 
woods of Virginia sheltered the youthful Washing-ton, the 
son of a w T idow. Born by the side of the Potomac, beneath 
the roof of a Westmoreland farm, almost 'from infancy his 
lot had been the lot of an orphan. No academy had wel- 
comed him to its shades; no colleg-e crowned him with its 
honors; to read, to write, to cipher — these had been his 
degrees of knowledge. • And now, at sixteen years of age, 
inquest of an honest maintenance, encountering intoler- 
able toil; cheered onward by beir^ able to write to a school- 
boy friend: 'D^ar Richard, a doubloon is my constant 
gain every day, and sometimes six pistoles,' himself his 
own cook, 'having no spit but a forked stick, no plate but a 
large chip;' roaming over spurs of the Alleghanies, alive to 
nature, and sometimes spending- the best of the day in ad- 
miring the trees and the richness of the land; among skin- 
clad savages, with their scalps and their rattles, or un- 
couth emigrants 'that w r ould never speak English;' rarely 
sleeping in a bed; holding a bearskin a splendid couch; 
glad of a resting for the night upon a little hay, straw 7 , or 
fodder, and often camping in the forests, where the place 
nearest the fire w r as a happy luxury — this stripling sur- 
veyor in the woods, w T ith no companions but his unlettered 
associates, and no implements of science but his compass 
and chain, contrasted strangel v with the imperial magnifi- 
cence of the congress of Aix-la-XDhapelle. And yet God had 
selected, not Kaunitz nor Newcastle, not a monarch of the 
house of Hapsburg, nor of Hanover, but the Virginia strip- 
ling, to give an impulse to human affairs, and, as far as an 
eyent can depend upon^an individual, had placed the rights 
i nd the destinies of countless millions in the keeping of the 
widow's son." 

Fairfax had the best lands of his large estate laid out in 



396 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



manors. Two of these were in Hampshire county, prior to 
the formation of Hardy and Mineral; but now there is 
little of the manor land in Hampshire. The Wappacomo 
manor, containing- fift3 r -flve thousand acres, lay along- the 
the South branch, mostly in the present county of Hardy. 
The Patterson creek manor, of nine thousand acres, was 
in what is now Mineral county. George Washington, after 
he was president of the United States, owned land in 
Hampshire. These manors were subsequently bought by 
John Marshall, chief justice of the United States, Raleigh 
Colston, and General Henry Lee. 

Lord Fairfax had aneye'to money-making, and resolved 
to realize as much as possible from his property. It is not 
necessary in this place to enter fully into his plan of deriv- 
ing revenue from his possession. Suffice it to say that his 
desire was to provide a perpetual income.\ It amounted to 
the same thing as renting his land forever a\a fixed yearly 
rental. He required a small sum, usually two and one 
half cents an acre,* or even less, to be paid Vlown. He 
called this "composition mone}\" He required a sum of 
about an equal amount to be paid every year "on the feast 
day of Saint Michael the Archangel." He did not always 
charge the same sum yearly per acre. He was greedy 
and overbearing, and if a person settled and improved his 
lands* without title, and afterwards applied for title, he 
took advantage of it, and charged them more, thinking they 
would pay it sooner than give up their improvements. 
Had he succeeded in disposing of all his lands on his regu- 
lar terms, his perpetual income would have been about one 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars yearly. This would 
have enabled him and hi^ heirs to live in royal style. But 
it was to be otherwise, ajs will be shown in this chapter. 

Lord Fairfax took up his residence at Green way co *rt y 
in the present county of Clarke, about twelve miles from 
Winchester. He had a large manor laid off there, and 
planned a number of buildings, only one of which he ever 

J . ' / 



LANDS AND LAND-OWNERS. 



397 



completed, and. he never lived in it, but made it the resi- 
dence of his steward. Fairfax lived in a small cabin near 
by, fared like the country people around him, and appeared 
satisfied. He had about one hundred and fifty slaves who 
lived in log houses scattered about the woods. As early 
as 1747 he began to sell his real estate. Land within 
Hampshire county was sold in 1749, and perhaps earlier, 
but that is the earliest record found here. This county 
was not organized till 1755, and the first instrument admit- 
ted to record in Hampshire county was at a term of court 
held June 11, 1755. On December 13, 1757 the first deed 
signed by Fairfax was recorded. It had been executed in 
1749, but for eight years had remained unrecorded. It was 
made to John Cunningham, and in its preamble these 
words occur: "The Right Honorable Thomas Lord Fair- 
fax, Baron of Cameron, in that part of Great Britain called 
Scotland, Proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia, in 
the nineteenth day of August in the twenty-third year of 
the reign of our sovereign George the Second, of Great 
Britain, France and Ireland, by the Grace of God defender 
of the faith, etc." The land conveyed was "on the Wappa- 
como or great South branch of Potowmack." In making 
these early deeds it was stipulated that the person who 
bought should "jever kill elk, deer, buffalo, beaver or 
other game," without the consent of Fairfax or his heirs. 

Land along the South branch in those days was not so 
valuable as at present; yet it found ready sale. Four hun- 
dred acres, near Moorefield, sold for one hundred and 
twenty-five dollars in 1758. Prior to the Revolutionary 
war a method of conve} r ing- land was in vogue, both in this 
county and in England, which is not now often met with 
in this state. It was resorted to as a means of deeding 
land, because, under the old Engiish laws, an, ordinary 
deed wis usually defective because few people absolutely 
owned their land, which was also the property of heirs 
yet to follow. By the system of a lease, and a release im- 



m HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Tied lately following*, a valid deed could be made. In the 
idest book of records in Hampshire county, there are ten 
teases and releases to one deed in fee simple. This book 
contains all deeds, mortgages, bonds, powers of attorney, 
bills of sale, leases and releases recorded in this county 
from June 11, 1755 to November 12, 1766. During this 
interval there were placed , on record fifteen deeds, two 
bonds, two powers of attorney, three mortgages, two bills 
of sale, one hundred and fifty leases and an equal number 
of releases. Thus, there were one hundred and seventy 
deeds recorded in the first twelve y ears of the county's 
history. A list of the first fifteen deeds in fee simple 
recorded in Hampshire county may be of interest, with- 
date of record: Lord Fairfax to John Cunningham, Lot 
thirty-eight, South branch, 1757. James Simpson to 
Thomas Waggoner, one hundred acres on South fork of 
South branch, 1757. John Elswick to Rachel Els wick, 
two hundred acres near Hanging Rocks, 1759. William 
Bowell to Joseph Craycroft, ninety-two acres, on Capon, 
1760. William Bowell to William Craycroft, ninet} T -five 
acres, on Capon, 1760. Stephen Rucldell to Daniel Wood, 
three hundred acres, on Lost river, 1761. Stephen Rud- 
dell to Robert Denton, two hundred and sixteen acres on 
Great Capon, 1761. Rachel Elswick to John Keplinger, 
two hundred acres, on Lost river, 1761. George Horner 
to John Owens, fifty acres, on North river, 1761. Francis 
McEride to Robert Denton, two hundred and twenty-two 
acres, on Lost river, 1761. Hugh Mur phew to Thomas 
Cresap, land in "French's Neck," 1762. John Johnson to 
Daniel McGlolin, one hundred and thirty-two acres, on 
Great Capon, 1765. Thomas McGuire tc Robert Parker, 
one hundred and thirteen acres, on New>creek, 176J. Job 
Pearfall to Luke Collins, three hundred and twentvthree 
acres, on the South branch, 1766. , m ; 

The history \>f the Revolutionary war is given elsevhere 
in this book. No county felt immediateljy the change from 



LANDS AND LAND-OWNERS. 



399 



a monarchal government to a republic any more forceably 
than Hampshire. Under British rule the land all belonged 
to Fairfax, and all who occupied it must pay him perpetual 
rent; and had the British arms been successful in that war, 
most probably the lands would still be paying rent to the 
heirs of Fairfax. No man could have felt that he abso- 
lutely owned his land. But the British armies were de- 
feated and Fairfax lost his grip on his possessions. As 
this is an important matter in the history of Hampshire it 
is proper to consider it more fully. 

Lord Fairfax always considered himself a British sub- 
ject, although he remained quietly on his estate near Win- 
chester during the revolution. His sympathies with the 
royal cause were well known; and had he been an ordinary 
person he would have been roughly treated by the patriots 
in the valley of Virginia. But the great friendship that 
existed between him and General Washing-ton saved him. 
Out of respect for Yv ashington, Fairfax was spared. 
When the great general was in that part of the state he 
always visited Fairfax, for whom he had much respect- 
The old Englishman earnest!)?- hoped that England might 
retain its hold on the colonies. But when Cornwallis sur- 
rendered at Yorktown, October 19, 1781, Fairfax saw that 
all was over. It may be said that it was his death blow. 
He took to his bed and never again left it, dying soon after 
in his ninety-second year. 

Prior to this the Virginia legislature had been passing 
laws to break up such estates as that of Fairfax, for the 
good of the people. Thomas Jefferson was the leader in 
this movement. As early as October 17, 1776, he intro- 
duced a bill in the Virginia legislature to abolish estates 
in tail; that is, he wanted a law that would prevent a man 
from sellim- "l->nd and still keeping it, and prevent him 
from collec f *ent forever. Estates should be held in 
fee sjmple(' s was a*olow at the Virginia j Hstocracy. 
j, / That clas 7 'pie were obnoxious to the ideas of liberty 




m 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



i.nd equality for which the Americans were then fighting. 
> was not thought best for large estates to remain in one 
imily forever. The result was, the law against estates 
n tail was passed. This in itself did not at once break up 
:he Fairfax estate, but it stopped the rent on land already 
old. However, the final blow fell at last, and the Fairfax 
estate was confiscated, because it belonged to a tory dui> 
mg the revolution. The land became the property of Vir- 
ginia, except such tracts as had been already sold, and the 
r nrchasers of these received clear titles. 

This was a great event for the people of Hampshire as 
-.veil as of the other counties formerly owned by Fairfax. 
. "he land was thrown open to the public, and the best parts 
■ : it were soon taken. That which was more remote re- 
gained state land longer, but the last acre of it was finally 
oought, and within a reasonable time thereafter fully two 
hundred thousand people possessed homes in a country in 
vhich one man formerly controlled everything. It is said 
that not one acre remained in the possession of any mem- 
ber of the Fairfax family. This chapter will be closed 
with a list of about two hundred persons who early availed 
.nemselves of the opportunity to possess Fairfax lands 
which had been confiscated by the state. The first entry 
on the commonwealth land, of which there is any record in 
loomney, was in 1788. There may have been older records, 
but they cannot be found. From January 14, 1788, to 
August 21, 1810, there were 1,986 land entries made in this 
county. The records are missing from Februar}^ 4, 1804, 
to January 29, 1808, and it is unknown how many entries * 
were made during that interval. The 1986 entries were 
probably made by not more than three hundred persons. 
As many as fifty entries were made by one person, proba- 
bly for speculation. Half dozen entries ,by one person w T as 
not unusual. In the list which follows will be found names 
of persons whose descendants now constitut ,ny of the 

most prominent families of the county. r \ ite when 

28 1 • V 



LANDS AND LAND-OWNERS. 



401 



-they took up their land, the number of acres, and the loca- 
tion are given: 

1788. James Machan, 400 acres, "adjoining Lawrence 
Washington's land on Knobly." 

1788. John Dawson, 80 acres, on North branch. 

1788. Andrew Cooper, 100 acres, on Painter's run. 
V 1788. David Hunter, 79 acres, on North branch. 
--^1783. William Bell, 120 acres, on Patterson creek. 

1788. Thomas Collins, 800 acres, on North branch. 

1788. Hugh Malone, 300 acres, on the waters of Mill 
creek. 

1788. Thomas Bryan Martin, 400 acres, on the waters 
of South branch. 

1788. Thomas Whittecher, 150 acres, on Knobby. 

1788. Marion McGraw, 300 acres on Capon. 

1788. Rees Pritchard, 400 acres, on North run. 

1788. Isaac Means, 400 acres, in Mill creek gap. 

1788. William Adams, 400 acres, on the waters of Pat- 
terson creek. 

1783. Samuel Boyd, 20 acres, on the North branch, and 
800 acres on Capon. 

^ 1788. Nathaniel Parker, 300 acres, on Patterson creek. 

1788. Henry Hawk, 400 acres, on the waters of Mill creek. 

1788. William Armstrong-, 400 acres,' on the North 
branch, adjoining Michael Cresap's land. 

1788. Andrew Wodrow, 100 acres, on Capon. 

1788. William Keeder, 100 acres, on Capon. 

1788. John Jones, 50 acres, on Patterson's creek. 

1788. E-ben Williams, 300 acres, on Patterson creek. v 

1788. Ezekiel Whitman, 150 acres, on Cat Tail run, and 
180 acres at the head of Green Spring valley. 

1788. Andrew Cooper, numerous tracts in all parts of 
the county. He was, apparently, the largest land holder 
at that time in Hampshire. 

17S3. Richard Stafford, 400 acres, near Ciloss reads on 
the waters of South branch. 



m HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 



1788. Frederick Metheny, 100 acres, on Limestone run, 
^including the sugar camp,' ' 

1788. Adam Hall, ISO acres, on Son th branch, "at Hall's 
mill." 

1788. Elisha Collins, 309 acres, on Clay Lick run. 

1788. Joseph Bute, 100 acres, on Buck Island run, 

1788, William Young-, 50 acres, on South branch. 

1788. Peter Walker, 100 acres, in Green Spring valley* 

1788. David Holmes, 2,400 seres, on the waters of Capon, 
and 900 on the waters of Lost river. 
^ 1788. David Williams, 100 acres, on Patterson creek. 

1788. Henry Kuykendall, 91 acres, on Buffalo run. 

1788. John Peyton, 115 acres, on Captain John's run; 
also 319 acres near the foot of Sidelong hill; also 800 acres 
on Watt run; also 400 acres on Capon. 
5 1788. John Wolleston, 100 acres, on Buck Island run. 

1788. Abraham Johnson, 100 acres, on Patterson creek; 
also, 200 acres on Cabin run. 

1788. Joseph Mitchell, 4-05 acres, on the waters of Pat- 
terson creek. : 

1788. James Fleming, 150 acres, on the waters of Mill 

creek; also 500 acres on Lick run. 

1788. Joshua Calvin, 400 acres, on the waters of Little 
Capon. 

1788. John J. Jacob, 212 acres, on South branch moun- 
tain. 

1788. Joseph Steers, 50 acres, on Bloomery run. 

1788. Moses StarJ 300 acres, on Middle ridge. 

1788. Peter McDonald, 100 acres, on Middle ridge. 

1789. Ebenezer McKinley, 150 acres, on Mill creek. 
1789. John Hugh, 200 acres, on Thompson run. 
1789. Archibald Magill, 500 acres, on Mill creek. 

1789. Sjohn Keller, 400 acres, on Patterson creek ridge. 

1789. Jo^m Wilkins, 92 acres on Saw Mill run. 

1789. Benjamin Stone, 50 acres, on Maple run. 

1789. Riciiard Huff, 130 acres, or North river. 



/ 



LANDS AND LAND-OWNERS. 



403 



7- 1789. Jol?n Bishop 400 acres, on Mill creek. 

1789. Jesse Pugh, 4 acr£s, on South branch. 

1789. James Keys, SO acres, at the foot of Dillon's 
mountain. 

1790. George Wolf, 350 acres, on Lick run. 
^-1790. Robert Ross, 400 acres, on "Morgan's run. 

1790. Daniel Slain, 170 acres on Sandy ridge. 

1790. James Hi&tt, 200 acres, on Sandy ridge. 

1790. James For man, 780 acres, on Sugar run. 

1790. Lewis Stallman, 250 acres on Stagg run. 

1790. John Chenowith, 50 acres, on North river. 

1790. Thomas Williamson, 400 acres, on the headwaters 
of Little Capon. 

1790. Jacob Miller, 150 acres, on Hazel run. 

1790. William Fox, 300 acres, on Middle ridge. 

1790. Jacob Short, 100 acres, on Spring run. 

1790. William Russell, 50 acres, on Capon. 

1790. William Smith, 200 acres, on South branch. 

1790. Valentine Swisher, 222 acres, on Capon. 

1790. Alexander King, 800 acres, on North branch. 

1791. Frederick High, 610 acres, on Mill creek. 

1791. Thomas Morgan, 50 acres, on White Oak bottom. 

1791. Ephriam Johnson, 150 acres, on Sugar Tree 
bottom. 

1791. William Jeney, 500 acres, on Deep run. 

1791. Robert McFarland, 100 acres, on Town hill. 

1791. John Hough, 100 acres, on Pargatt's run. 

1791. Richard Neilson, 234 acres, on Tearcoat. 

1791. Peter Kizer, 100 acres, on Town hill. 

1791. William Chapman, 25 acres, on Clay Lick ridge. 

1791. Daniel Pugh, 9,600 acres, on both sides of Patter- 
son creek, including the greater part of the Philip Martin 
manor. 

1791. Isaac Means, 50 acres, on Mill creek. 

1791. Moses Thomas, 100 acres, on Craig's run. 

1792. John Goff, 25 acres, on Kuj^kendall's sawmill run. 



404 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

1792. Hugh Murphy, 50 acre^, on Little Capon, 

1792. John Blue, 300 acres, j on South branch below 
Hanging- Rocks. ' 

1792. Robert French, 260 acres, on Little Capon. 

1792. Benjamin Ayers, 200 acres, on Patterson creek. 

1792. Peter Larew, 100 acres, on Capon, 

1792. Daniel Newxomb, 160 acres, on Sidelong hill. 

1792. Isaac Daton, 300 acres, incuding Two islands in 
Le South branch. 

1792. Nicholas Boyce, 400 acres, on Mill creek. 

1792. George Bowman, 100 acres, on George's run. 

1792. John High, 137 acres, on Mill creek. 

1792. Thomas Hailey, 50 acres, on Spring Gap moun- 
tain. 

1792. William Jackson, 200 acres, on Capon. 

1792. William Carlyle, 15 acres, on High Top moun- 
tain. ' ' ■ ' ' - - V . ': \ 

1792. Jonathan Pursell, 100 acres, on South branch. 

1792. Jacob Doll, 50 acres, on Knobly. 

1793. Newman Beckwith, 300 acres, near Davis' mill. 
1793. John Butcher, 50 acres on Capon mountain. 

•1793. Jesse Barnett, 100 acres, on New creek. 

1793. John Seaburn, 30 acres, on Little Capon. 

1793. Abram Rinehart, 200 acres, on Edward's run. 

1793. Peter Putman, 25 acres, on Knobly. 

1793. James Jamison, 100 acres, on Little mountain. 

1793. Thomas Fry, 100 acres, on Capon. 

1793. Virgil Graybill, 100 acres, "adjoining the land of 
President Washington on the waters of the Potomac." 

1793. William Scott, 50 acres, on Sidelong hill. 

1793. Jacob Jerkins, 25 acres, "near and including the 
meeting house." 

1793. Joseph Lang, 100 acres, on Widow Gilmer's run, 
near Big Mud lick. 

1793. Jacob Purgatt, 50 acres, at the foot of Knobry. 

1793. Francis and William Deakins, 12,000 acres, be- 



LANDS AND LAND-OWNERS. 405 



tween Patterson creek and New creek, next to the North 
hranch. 

1793. Virgil McCrackin, 100 acres, adjoining Washing- 
ton's survey. 

1793. Moses Ash brook, 300 acres, on Maple run. 
f 1794. James Caruthers, 4 acres, on Capon. 

1794. James Largent, 100 acres in the Chimney tract. 
1794. Isaac Lupton, 28 acres, on Sandy ridge. 

1794. Jacob Baker, 175 acres, on North river. 

1794. Perez Drew, 83 acres, on Little Capon. 

1794. John Wallis, 100 acres, on Little Capon. 

1794. Job Shepherd, 65 acres, on Wiggins' run. 
| 1794. Abram Neff. 100 acres, on Wild Meadow run. 

1794. Jacob Umstott, 50 acres, on Mill creek. 

1794. Jacob Hoover, 100 acres, on North mountain. 

1794. John Stoker, 100 acres, on Spring Gap mountain. 

1794. George Phebus, 100 acres, near Rhobe} r 's gap. 

1794. David Stephens, 100 acres, on Capon. 

1794. George Chambers, 64,544 acres, located in various 
parts of the county, but chiefly near the Hardy county 
line, on Patterson creek mountain and on the North 
branch. 

1794. George Gilpin, 14,000 acres, on Knobly, and along 
the Hard}^ county line, and other large tracts elsewhere in 
the county. 

1795. Jacob Kisner, 80 acres-on North river. 
1795. John Plumb, 100 acres, on M4H creek. 
1795. Simon Taylor, 200 acres, on South branch. 
1795. Isaac Parsons, 100 acres, on South branch. 
1795. Philip Pendleton, 1,000 acres on great Capon 

mountain. 

1795. John Jack, 100 acres, on the road leading from 
Romney to Winchester. 

1795. Samuel Chesshire, 69 acres, on Tear Coat. 

1795. Elisha C. Dirk, 40,000 acres, partly along the 
Alleghaney mountain and New creek, and partly between 



406 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



North river and South branch; also 2,400 acres in other 
parts of the county. 

1795. John and Joseph Swan, 10,000 acres, between 
Spring- Gap mountain and Little Capon. 

1795. Aaron Steed, 100 acres, on Hopkin's run. 

1795. Joseph B. Billings, 727 acres, on the North branch; 
also other tracts in different parts of the county. 

1795. John Randolph, 300 acres, on Abram's creek. 

1796. Peter Good, 50 acres, on Dry run. 

1796. John Pancake, 50 acres, on South branch. 

1796. William Winterton, 50 acres, on Capon. 

1797. Joseph Baker, 10G acres, on Capon. 

1797. Frederick Gulick, 50 acres, on Little Capon. 
1797. Frederick Haus, 64 acres, on South branch. 
1797. Gabriel Throckmorton, 600 acres, on Capon. 
1797. Robert Gustin, 100 acres, on Capon. 
1797. Samuel Dobbin, 100 acres, on Cabin run. 

1797. David Parsons, 300 acres, on South branch. 
• 1798. Samuel How T ard, 50 acres, on Capon. 

179S; Charles Dowles, 1,500 acres, on the road from 
Romney to Winchester. 

1798. John Pearsall, 100 acres, on Patterson creek. 
1798. John Wolfe, 40 acres, on Capon. 

1798. Jacob Bowers, 50 acres, on Dilling's mountain. 
1798. John Lay, 20 acres, on Knob ridge. 
1798. Daniel Duggan, 50 acres, on North River moun- 
tain. 

1798. John Sw T itzer, 190 acres, on Dillinger's run. 
1798. Luther and Samuel Calvin, 100 acres, on the waters 
of South branch. 

1798. William Reeder, 40 acres, on Crooked run. 

1799. John Templeton, 300 acres, on North branch. 
1799. Adam Hider, 4 acres, on Shrub mountain. 
1799. John Foley, 300 acres, on Long ridge. 

1799. Thomas Parker, 50 acres, on Green Spring run. 
1799. John Abernathy, 5 acres, on Pine Swamp run. 



LANDS AND LAND-OWNERS. 



407 



1799. Norman Bruce, 100 acres, on the Potomac. 

1799. Natley Robey, 100 acres, on Mill creek. 

1799. John Jones, 115 acres, on North river. 

1799. Philip Pendleton, 9,500 acres, on Branch moun- 
tain and elsewhere. 

1799. Daniel Hopwood, 100 acres, on Knobly. 

1799. William Gray* 50 acres, on the Potomac. 

1800. William BuSiugton, 100 acres, on South branch. 
1800. Francis White, 20 acres, on North river. 

1800. George Harris, 50 acres, on Mill creek. 

1800. James Laramore, 225 acres, on South branch. 

1800. Henr} T Hartman, 139 acres, on Mill creek. 

1800. Jaco b Millslagel, 1$0 acres, on Timber ridge. 

1800. Alexander Monroe," 300 acres, on North river, and 
1,700 acres on Patterson creek. > • 

1800. Jeremiah Ashby, 300 acres, on North branch. 

1801. James Slack, 16 acres, on South branch. 
1801. John Casper, 50 acres, on North river. 

1801. David Bookless, 80 acres, on Cattleman's run. 

1801. John Moore, 50 acres, on Myke's run. 

1801. Schantzenbach Kisler, 100 acres, on Sidelong- hill. 

1801. Andrew Bogle, 100 acres, on New creek. 

1801. Robert Rogers, 100 acres, on the Potomac. 

1801. William Na} 7 lor, 50 acres, on Town run. 

1801. Thomas Carscaddon, 250 acres, on Stagg run. 

1801. Richard Holliday, 5 acres, on Spring- run. 

1801. John Griffin, 83 acres, on Horse Camp run. 

1801. William Stennett, 500 acres, on Spring Gap moun- 
tain. 

1801. John Poland, 41 acres, on Kuykendall's run. 

1802. Andrew Walker, 100 acres, on Green Spring run. 
1802. Solomon Hoge, 25 acres, on South branch moun- 
tain. 

1802. George Beattv, 139 acres, on Mill creek knob. 

1802. - Daniel Lantz, 50 acres, in Green Spring valley. 

1802. Robert Gustin, 73 acres, on Rock Gap run. 



408 

1802. 
1803. 
1803. 
1803. 
1803. 
1804. 
1808. 
1808. 
creek. 
1808. 
1808. 
1S09. 
1809. 
1809. 
1809. 
1809. 
1810. 
1810. 
1810. 
1810. 
1810. 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

James Caudy, 50 acres, on Mill creek. 
John Selby, 50 acres, on North run mountain. 
Eli Ashbrook, 100 acres, on Tear Coat. 
John Wright, 60 acres, near Capon springs. 
Jacob Jenkins, 50 acres, near Bear garden. 
William Florence, 200 acres, on Cabin run. 
Lewis Vandever, 279 acres, on Patterson creek. 
William Armstrong, 100 acres, on Patterson 

Michael Widmire. 70 acres, on Capon. 
Henry Dangerfield, 20 acres, on Capon. s 
Peter Bruner, 25 acres, on Capon. 
Jacob Stuckslagh, 6 acres, on the Potomac. 
Nathan Sutton, 148 acres, on High Gap mountain. 
Frederick Buzzard, 10 acres, on Mill's branch. 
John Swisher, 50 acres, on Hughes' run. 
Jacob Leopard, 300 acres, on North branch. 
Henry Huntsman, 600 acres, on South branch. 
John Wolford, 25 acres, on North river. 
James Glinn, 25 acres, on Bennett's run. 
Thomas Young-ley, 84 acres, on .North river 
n. 




CHAPTER XXXVL 



«0> 

NATURAL CURIOSITIES, 

BY H. L. SWISHER. 

CttJ)07l- Springs. — Four miles up the mountain from 
Capon river and two miles frpm the summit of North 
mountain, Capon springs and baths, today among- the 
famous watering- places of the world, rest like a hawk's 
nest against the mountain side. The buildings are on a 
small plateau containing a couple of acres, and through the 
middle of this flows a small crystal stream whose waters 
are from the mineral springs at its head. 

These springs have been known for years. Long before 
the beginning of this century a man named Henry Frye 
had discovered the springs and made some improvements. 
While hunting one da} r on the mountain side, near the 
springs, he killed a large bear. Gathering- up such a por- 
tion of his game as he could carry, he started tor camp. 
Before he had proceeded very far, however, he oecame 
thirsty, and throwing down his burden, he descended into 
the glen in search of water. He found a large spring, 
from which he cleared away the moss and leaves and then 
satisfied his thirst. The temperature and peculiar taste 
of the water led him to suspect its medicinal value. When, 
during the following summer, his wife w T as afflicted with 
rheumatism, he decided to take her to this place to see if 
a cure could not be effected. He built a small cabin and 
removed with his wife thither. This was undoubtedly the 
first improvement of the place and was made perhaps 
about the year 1765, although there is no definite record of 



410 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



lie late. The place was for many years known as Frye's 
spring's, in honor of the discoverer. 

In the month of October, 1787, twenty acres of land 
around and including- the 1 spring- was laid off into lots and 
streets. The place was named Watson and retained this 
name for some years. The following- persons made up the 
first board of trustees: Elias Poston, Henry Frye, Isaac 
Hawk, Jacob Hoover, John Winterton, Valentine Swisher, 
Rudolph Bumg-arner, Paul M'lvor, John Sherman Wood- 
cock and Isaac Zane. 

The lots thus laid off were to contain one-half acre, and 
it became the duty of the trustees to advertise the lots and 
offer them for sale at the next session of the county court. 
One of the conditions to a title was that the purchaser 
should build on each lot a dwelling- house sixteen feet 
square and having- a brick or stone chimney. 

Defining- the duties of trustees, article eig-hth of the same 
act states: "The said trustees shall lay off the said lots and 
streets as contiguous to that part of said land from whence 
the water issues, supposed efficacious in certain disorders, 
as the situation will admit of; and shall also lay off half an 
acre of land, to include said spring-, the leng-th of which 
shall extend down the stream and be double the width ; 
which half acre so laid off shall be and the same is hereby 
vested in said trustees and their successors, in trust, to 
and for the use of such persons as may resort thereto/' 

Another act was passed on December 27, 1800, by which 
Andrew Wodrow, James Singleton, John Litle, Stephen 
Pritchard, Moses Russell, Henry Beatty, John Croudson 
and Thomas Powell were made trustees. Disputes arose 
concerning- titles to the lots sold by the first board of trus- 
tees, and in 1803 John Mitchell, at that time county sur- 
veyor, was appointed to re-survey the town and make a plat 
showing- boundary of lots. This plat was approved by the 
trustees and afterwards established by the assembly as 
the true survey of the town. The law which compelled 



NATURAL CURIOSITIES. 



411 



the purchasers of lots to build stone or brick chimneys to 
their dwelling's was also repealed in the same year. On 
January 4, 1816, Charles Brent, Philip Williams, David 
Og'den, John Litle (son of Thomas Litle), George Huddle, 
William Herrin and Archibald Craigwell were appointed 
trustees. There was another act passed in 1830, which 
made it the duty of the board to appoint a clerk, who had 
charge of collecting- and disbursing- moneys accruing- to 
the trustees. 

An early historian, writing- about the place in 1833, says: 
•'This place is too publicly known to require a minute de- 
scription in this work; suffice it to say, it is located in a 
deep, narrow glen, on the west side of the Great North 
mountain. The road across the mountain is rugged and 
disagreeable to travel, but money is now raising by lottery 
to improve it. The trustees for several years past have 
imposed a pretty heavy tax upon visitors for the use of the 
waters. This tax is intended to raise funds for keeping 
the baths, etc., in repair. There are seventeen or eighteen 
houses erected without much regard to regularity, and a 
boarding establishment, capable of accommodating fifty or 
sixty visitors, which is kept in excellent style." 

Such was a description of the place sixty-four years ago, 
but there have been great changes since then. Iu 1849 
the main building was built by Buck, Blakemore and Ric- 
ord, at a cost of $75,000. During the summer following its 
completion Daniel Webster paid the place a visit and made 
a speech while there. He was accompanied by Sir Henry 
Bulwer, at that time English ambassador to this country. 
President Pierce also paid the place a visit during his 
term of office. At one time, when there was a vacancy in 
the board of trustees, J. P. Morgan, the multi-millionaire 
of today, was chosen for the place. His going to Europe 
soon thereafter prevented his acceptance. When-the Civil 
war came on the board of trustees were some eight thous- 
and dollars in debt. A special act passed the Virginia 



412 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

assembly permitting the trustees to sell the building's and 
property for debt. This was done, but after the war was 
over the sale was annulled as a confederate transaction. 

Capon Spring-s have long- enjoyed a reputation as a water- 
ing place. It was once a favorite summer resort with the 
Washington family. "Long before hotels were built," 
writes Dr. Still, "the wealthy families of Virginia and the 
neighboring states pitched their tents around the Springs 
during the heated term. " Another writer speaking of this 
place before the war, says: "The Capon Springs and baths 
in ante-bellum days enjoyed a reputation unsurpassed by 
any watering place in the South. The wealth and intelli- 
g*ence of the North and South met here during the season 
in pleasant, social relation, and g*ave to Capon a historic 
interest and national reputation which to this day have 
made it among- the most popular and attractive summer 
resorts in this country." 

The people of this county are far less acquainted with 
this resort than many strangers from hundreds of miles 
awa}'. For this reason a description of the place as it ap- 
pears today may be of interest to readers of this book. 
The main hotel which stands at the base of the hills which 
rise in the rear of the building-, is an imposing structure. 
It rises four stories in height and has a frontage of two 
hundred and sixty-two feet on the north and one hundred 
and ninety-six feet on the south. In front of this building 
runs a large portico one hundred and seventy-five feet long 
and eighteen feet in width. The front of this portico is 
set off with huge white Doric pillars rising up thirty-five 
feet to the ceiling. The dining hall, which is tw T o hundred 
and forty feet long- and forty feet wide, permits more than 
six hundred persons to be seated at one time. Adjoining 
the dining room is the large and finely furnished ball 
room. In the same building is the parlor, which is quite 
an fait. Besides the main hotel there are a couple of 
annexes which are buildings of considerable size. Facing 



NATURAL CURIOSITIES. 413 

the building- above described, and separated from it by 
about a hundred yards of lawn, stand the bath bouse and 
swimming-pool. There are about forty bath rooms in the 
building- with arrangements for douche, plunge and 
shower baths. The swimming- pool is an elliptical pit 
ninety feet in length and forty-eight feet wide. The 
depth varies from three and one-half to eight and one-half 
feet, but the crystal clearness of the water g-ives it the 
appearance of being- but a few inches deep. 

At the head of the glen in which the buildings are situ- 
ated, is the main spring- which pours out its waters from 
the base of white cliffs at the rate of six thousand g-allons 
an hour. As it flows from the earth the temperature is 
sixty-four degrees. In the swimming pool the temperature 
is ordinarily near seventy, but this is due to the sun's 
heat. The water is what is known as alkaline lithia, and 
as it flows from the earth has a saponaceous feel. A qual- 
atative analysis of the water shows that it contains silicic 
acid, soda, magmesia, bromine, iodine and carbonic acid. 
The waters are not repugnant to the taste, but are, in fact, 
pleasant. They belong- to the alkaloid carbonates and Dr. 
Ashby, who made an extensive study of mineral waters, 
declared that they were similar in medical affect to the 
Vichy of France, the Carlsbad of Germany and the 
Bethesda of Wisconsin. The waters are agreed to be 
especially valuable in the treatment cf idiopathic affections 
of the nervous system, dyspeptic depravities and derange- 
ments of the mucous surfaces. They are, no doubt, valua- 
ble also for rheumatic and catarrhal troubles. 

There is also a chakfbeate Spring- about three-quarters 
of a mile from the main spring-. Capon spring-s is thirty 
miles from Romney and about twenty-five miles from 
Winchester. ,The springs are likely to grow in favor as 
they become better known. Sir Henry Bui we r, who vis- 
ited them in 1850 in company with Daniel Webster, 



414 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



declared there was no more complete bathing- resort in 
Europe. 

Ice Mountain. — This curious work of nature, which 
is perhaps better known than any other natural curiosity 
in the county, is situated about half a mile from North 
river mills. It consists of a ridge, shaped like an arc of 
an eliptic, with its concave side facing- northwest. At the 
foot of the mountain, which is perhaps five hundred feet 
hig-h, flows North river in a horseshoe, conforming- to the 
shape of the mountain. The sides of the mountain are 
covered with frag-ments and boulders of broken sandstone 
which have rotted away from the cliffs above. This talus 
is a perhaps fifty feet thick at the mountain's base. A part 
of the slope is completely barren, but much of it is covered 
with laurel, birch and stunted pine, while at the foot there 
is a strip of trees of considerable heig-ht. Crowning- the 
ridg-e is Raven rock, which presents a perpendicular face 
of two hundred feet. It is the last remaining- vestig-e of a 
towering- cliff that once overlooked the river. It is the foot 
of the mountain, however, that attracts attention and has 
made the place famous. 

At the mountain's base, extending- for about two hun- 
dred yards along- the river and averaging- about two rods 
in width, is a huge natural refrigerator. Ey removing- the 
loose rocks, even in the hottest season of the year, ice can 
always be found. The rocks are so cold as to numb the 
fingers, though the mid-day sun may be shining full upon 
them. There is a continual expulsion of cold air which is 
felt perceptibly some feet from the edge of the rocks. 

Many theories have been advanced to account for the 
formation and preservation of ice at this place. The phe- 
nomenon is most likely due to very simple causes. The 
open nature of the talus of course allows the free circula- 
tion of air and water in the spaces between the boulders. 
During the cold season ice is formed from rain and snow 
in the crevices of the rocks until the mountain side for 



NATURAL CURIOSITIES. 



415 



many feet below the surface is a mass of ice and stone. 
The outer ice acts as a protection to that deeper in the 
rocks by sealing- it up, as it were, from the outside air, 
while the deeper ice acts in a preserving- manner by lower- 
ing- the temperature. When the hot weather comes, the 
ice hig-her up on the mountain soon disappears, while that 
at the base is preserved, because it is less exposed to the 
sun on account of the trees along- the base, and also on ac- 
count of the facing- of the mountain. Then again, its thick- 
ness is much greater. It is well known that as the season 
advances it becomes necessary to dig- deeper in the loose 
rocks in order to find ice. The expulsion of cold air from 
the base may be accounted for by supposing- that the sur- 
rounding- air circulating- among- the rocks above the ice 
becomes cool and settles to the bottom. Its own gravity 
prevents its rising- and the pressure of the atmosphere 
above forces it out along- the face of the rocks at the lowest 
point. Ice mountain seems admirably adapted as a site for 
a dairy, or with the expenditure of considerable capital, it 
could be made a famous summer resort. 

Candlf S Castle. — In a spur of North river mountain 
known as Castle mountain, on the west bank of Capon river, 
is situated Gaudy's Castle. This imposing work of nature 
is named for James Caudy, an early settler in that part of 
the county and a noted Indian fighter. Facing- the river 
and rising- almost perpendicular at this point, is an im- 
mense cliff about four hundred and fifty feet high. The 
Castle proper crowns this cliff and rises solemn and barren 
fifty feet higher. The ascent is made from the west with 
the gradual slope of the mountain from that side till with- 
in seventy-five feet of the top, when one is compelled to 
follow along a narrow shelf of rock around the northern 
end of the Castle and then along its face overhanging 
Capon. The last fifteen or twenty feet is nearly perpen- 
dicular, and the top can only be reached by perilous climb- 
ing, clinging to the projecting- edges of the rock. On top 



416 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



there is a space of about twenty feet,, but such a gale con- 
stantly sweeps across its barren summit that one with 
difficulty stands erect. * 

The Tea Table. — Four miles from Forks of Capon 
and on Capon mountain is a curiosity of so ne note. 
This is the Tea Table. A large flat rock fifteen feet wide, 
is supported on a column which rises fifteen feet or more 
in the air, and which is not more than three feet in diame- 
ter at it narrowest place. The upper surface of the table 
is concave and usually contains several gallons of water. 
This is due, however, to rainfall and not to a spring- in the 
rock as is stated in Howe's History of Virginia. 

Diamond Ridge. — This name is given to a moun- 
tain spur just west of the town of Bloom ery. Large rocks 
are here found, the surfaces of which are studded with the 
most beautiful crystals, some of them an inch in diameter. 
From these the ridge has taken its name. 

Pivot Roelc. — On the land of Amos McElfresh, about 
one mile from Springfield, may be seen a curiosity, which 
of its kind is, perhaps, equal to anything in the world. 
This is Pivot Rock. A huge boulder, weighing hundreds 
of tons, is supported on a slender stem less than one-eighth 
the diameter of the rock above. 

This rock is about twenty-five feet high above its fragile 
stem and nearly forty feet thick at its g-reatest diameter. 
The column on which it rests is twelve feet high and at 
the narrowest place not more than five feet in diameter. 
One is puzzled to understand how this great mass of 
silicious sandstone is able to rest on such small support, 
and it is evident that a slight earthquake shock, or a few 
sticks of dynamite, rightly placed, would send this mighty 
rock thundering and crashing down the declivity below. 
Just back of this goblet-shaped curiosity carved out in the 
long course of geological time is the cliff from which it is 
taken. A log from the cliff to the rock some twenty feet, 
served for sometime as a means of access to the top of .the 

29 



NATURAL CURIOSITIES. 



417 



latter for these adventurous persons who desired to ascend 
it. No vegetation grows upon the boulder save a few 
birch bushes. Numerous camping- parties from the city- 
have visited the place and many views have been taken of 
it. This natural curiosity was pointed out to the author 
by J. T. Woodson, who lives near by, and was the first 
person to call public attention to it. 

Hci7l£l7l£ Roolcs. — Four miles north of Romney the 
-South branch river has cut throug-h Mill Creek mountain 
forming an interesting- and imposing- cliff know as Hanging* 
Rocks. This cliff, more than three hundred feet high, 
rises almost perpendicular from the river's edge. The 
rocks are arched like a bended bow forming what in geology 
is known as an anticline. The distance through the gap 
isiive-eighths of a mile. The upper stratum of rocks is 
Monterey sandstone, while that immediately below is a 
cherty limestone called Lewiston chert-lentil. The limetone 
is made of a congdomeration of small sea shells known as 
brachiopods. Long before man inhabited the earth this 
mountain began to rise out of the sea and the Wappato- 
rnaka (South branch,) which was then flowing in its present 
course, began to cut through it. Slowly the mountain 
rose a few inches in a century perhaps, slowly the river 
cut its way downward until it made the mighty cliffs that 
now cause us to stand and wonder. This gap is only one 
of four in the same mountain in Hampshire county. The 
first is at Mechanicsburg where Mill creek cuts through, 
the next, proceeding northward, is the one described, two 
miles south of Springfield, known as Lower Hanging 
Rocks, is the third; while the fourth is made by the North 
branch of the Potomac near the junction of the two rivers. 

Blue's Gap. — Going to Capon Bridge via of the North- 
western grade one passes through Blue's Gap, sixteen 
miles east of Romney. Here a small stream that empties 
into North river has cut throug-h North river mountain, 
forming a pass about two hundred yards in length. The 



418 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



rocks in this gap are wholly of sandstone of a very fine 
variety. So little of cementing- material is there mixed 
with the finely triturated grains that a piece of the rock 
can easily be crushed to pieces with the hand. At the 
eastern end of the pass is a tunnel some fifteen feet w r ide 
and twenty feet high, and extending* in the mountain a con- 
siderable distance. This artificial cave was made by per- 
sons hewing- out the stone and carrying- it away for various 
purposes. It is a great favorite with the housewives round 
about for scouring- purposes, while many farmers use it in 
the manufacture of whet paddles for sharpening- scythes. 

Caves. — There are bat few caves in this county. Cav- 
erns most frequently occur in limestone, and the fact that 
there is so little of this stone exposed in Hampshire ac- 
counts for the absence of them. There are a few small 
ones, however. There is a cave on what is known as the 
Milslag-le farm on Timber ridge. This was explored for 
a short distance some years ago by William Off uft, but has 
since attracted little attention. 

Mineral Springs. — These are quite numerous and 
distributed over a larg-e area in the county. Sulphur 
springs are most abundant and of many varieties, locally 
known as red, white and black sulphur springs. Capon 
Springs are alkaloid lithia. There are also a few chalyb- 
eate or iron springs in different parts of the county. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



«o» 

CEMETERIES OF ROMNEY, 

BY HU MAXWELL. 

So far as can be ascertained from extant traditions, the 
first burying- place for the dead of Romney was situated 
on the public square on which the court house was after- 
wards built, but the graves were between the present 
court house and the Kellar hotel, on the site and in the, 
rear of the present bank of Romney. It is probable that 
the first dead of the town were laid to their last rest in 
that old cemetery. How many sleep there, no one now 
knows. But there were many; for there is evidence that 
it was still used as a burying- ground after the beginning; 
of the present century. Old people a few years ago could 
remember when the graves could be distinguished, one 
from another. But the land was occupied by houses and 
gardens; and the plow finally obliterated each 

"Mouldering- heap, 
Where, in his narrow cell forever laid, 

The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep." 

It is related that, after the ground ceased to be used as 
a burying- place, and was appropriated as a garden, a per- 
son in walking- through the high grass and rank weeds 
would sometimes stumble into the deeply sunken graves. 
No stone now marks the sight of a single tomb, and the 
name of a single person who was buried there cannot now 
be ascertained. In their day they no doubt believed they 
were filling a place in the world of the living which would 
entitle them to, and secure for them, at least a gravestone 
to mark their narrow house in the realm of the dead. But, 

.1 



420 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



such has not been the case. No doubt, in that old ceme- 
tery lie the men who saved from the tomahawk of the sav- 
age many a frontier home in Hampshire; and who, in 
their lives, were looked upon as the protectors, defenders 
and saviors of the people and their homes, when the cruel 
Indian and his no less cruel white ally made wide desola- 
tion along- the frontiers. But, alas, how soon the children 
f org-et the debt of gratitude which their parents owed ! How 
applicable to the dead here are the verses written of the 
neglected grave of Simon Kenton, the defender of Ken- 
tucky in its earliest years: 



"Ah, can this be the spot where sleeps 

The bravest of the brave! 
Is this rude slab the only mark 

Of Simon Kenton's grave ! 
These broken paling-s, are they all 

His ingrate country g'ave 
To one who periled life so oft 

Her hearths and homes to save!" 



In the old cemetery in Romney there remain not so 
much as the "broken paling-s" or the 'rude slab." All 
have passed away, and nothing- is left but the memory, and 
that, being- the most immaterial and ephemeral of thing's, 
will soon pass into nothingness, and the shadow of oblivion 
will settle down forever. 

Archaeologists who dig- into the tumuli along- the Nile, 
the Tigris and the Euphrates, discover that very ancient 
cities often stood upon the ruins of cities more ancient, 
and these, in their turn, rested their foundations upon 
cities antedating- them by centuries, one ruin upon another, 
stretching- back into the dim antiquity of the infant world 
until a time is reached when there is not so much as a 



cuniform inscription or a rude hierogiyph to give an ap- 
proximation of the date, nor a hint of the name or charac- 
ter of the first city and its inhabitants. History repeats 
itself, even in the small thing- of villag-e graveyards. Rom- 
ney a hundred years ag-o abandoned the cemetery in which 




CEMETERIES OF ROMNEY. 421 



it had buried its first people. Perhaps the space was full. 
A new, larger and more beautifully situated cemetery was 
chosen, beginning- near the southwestern street of the 
town, and rising- toward the hill with a gentle slope. It 
was no doubt believed that this new field would furnish 
ample space for burying- the villag-e dead for centuries. 
But no cities increase in population more rapidly than the 
cities of the dead. All that live must some time make 
their habitation there. The new cemetery was ample for 
more than half a century. Then space became circum- 
scribed. One by one the vacant places grew smaller and 
fewer; and the people who still lived beg-an to interest 
themselves in securing- a less crowded place in which to 
rest when dead. The graveyard was full. The old church 
in the cemetery, which was building- while British cannon 
were bombarding- Baltimore's protecting- fort; while British 
fire was burning- the capitol at Washington; while British 
troops, which had driven Napoleon from Spain, were break- 
ing against Jackson's fortifications at New Orleans, like 
waves against immovable rocks — that old church in the 
cemetery had the dead buried close to its very walls. So 
crowded had the places become that no other room could 
be found. The graveyard was full. A new one, a larger, 
must be found; for Romney still furnished people for "the 
narrow chambers in the halls of death." 

On a high, beautiful terrace, overlooking the valley, In- 
dian Mound cemetery was marked out. It was the burial 
place of Indians centuries before the white race saw the 
Blue Ridge, hence its name. Further back, in geological 
time, it was the channel of the South branch, and the 
rounded stones of the old fiood plane lie in drifts beneath 
the subsoil. This is the graveyard of today. 

The old abandoned and neglected cemetery at the foot 
of the hill is a melancholy picture. The hand of time has 
been laid heavily upon it, and its beauty has departed, save 
that beauty which a pensive fancy can see in ruin and descr 



422 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



lation, especially when, so intimately associated with the 
dead. Heavy foundations, covered with grass which hides 
the wreck of masonry, mark the site of the church, which 
ceased to be used more than a quarter of a century ago. 
In this edifice the eminent Dr. Foote preached for nearly 
thirty years. He and the church have taken their depar- 
ture. 

"Dead the singer; dead the song - ." 

A clump of locust trees, no doubt planted when the 
church was new, stands there still, about the only cheer- 
ful thing to relieve the monotony of the desolation. A row 
of posts, some of them broken, and gaps where others are 
missing, shows where the enclosing' fence once was. At 
present the cemetery is the village pasture ground; and 
cattle fight for the tufts of grass which flourish in the 
spaces between the overturned tombstones. Slabs of mar- 
ble, broken into fragments, strew the ground; and grave- 
stones, leaning at all angles, show how numerous are the 
graves. Vandalism has done its worst. Evidence is not 
wanting that many a stone has been broken deliberately, 
for the dints of blows are visible where one gravestone has 
been used as a maul to break another. On some of the 
stones still standing*, on others lying" flat and half buried, 
and on the broken fragments of still others, may be read 
epitaphs and names which suggest much that deserves to 
be remembered. We do not know how much was once 
there which cannot now be read. We cannot tell who lie 
in graves no longer marked. The oldest citizen of Romney 
has forgotten, if he ever knew, who are the occupants of 
tombs which, to judge from the heavy pedestals on which 
gravestones formerly stood, were made for influential and 
prominent men. The best catalogue that can now be made 
of the graves is but a mere fragment. We know what we 
have, but cannot know what we have not. The historian, 
whose sense of duty impels him to rescue what he can 
from oblivion, finishes his task with the feeling that, after 



CEMETERIES OF ROMNEY. 



423 



-all his pains, be can present only a page here and a torn 
fragment there from this book of the dead. Yet he feels 
that the fragments, like broken vases from Etruscan ruins, 
are valuable. What is done must be done quickly, or the 
dead of this cemeteiw, like those of the older one, will pass 
into oblivion and leave not a name. 

The land occupied by the cemetery was given by Andrew 
Wodrow, and was deeded to James Beach, William Inskeep, 
Adam Hare and John Lawson, as trustees. The church 
was several years in building-. The aisle took up half the 
interior space. The first elder in the church, William 
Naylor, was among- the first to be buried there. He was 
a lawyer, and a pillar in the Presbyterian church. 
Another elder, John McDowell is buried there. He was a 
son-in-law of Andrew Wodrow. In this old cemetery 
sleeps Andrew Wodrow, a Scotchman by birth, a gentle- 
man by nature, a scolar above the average of his time. He 
came from a family of scholars. His father enjoyed, and 
still has, a national reputation as a historian. His father, 
the historian of the church of Scotland, was Robert Wod- 
row. He published his history the year Andrew Wodrow 
was born, 1752. Lord Macaulay frequently quoted from 
that book in his history of England, and it was diligently 
read by Walter Scott and other great men. The Wodrows 
were related to the family of Dr. McCosh of Princeton 
college. They were a family of college professors. Two 
members of the Wodrow family filled, in succession, the 
chair of theology in the Glasgow university, in Scotland, 
and another was librarian of the university. Andrew came 
to America, and late in the eighteenth century took up his 
home in Romney, and there lived and died. His son, Craig" 
Wodrow, also rests in the cemetery. He, too, was a 
scholar, but poor health through life prevented his taking 
part in active business. A large marble slab, whose broken 
fragments are half buried in the grass, was oyer the grave 
•of William Sherrard, who died at St. Augustine, Florida, 



424 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



and who was brought home that he might be buried where 
friends could visit his grave. Had he been laid to rest un- 
der the evergreen palms in the southern land of flowers it 
would have been as well. The quietude of a Florida forest,, 
where the ground is necked by sheen and shadow, were 
preferable to 6 'a marble wilderness." 

The wife of J. B. Sherrard and the two wives of David 
Gibson w T ere buried here; also the wife of John W. Mar- 
shall. Here was laid to his last rest that unsatisfied man, 
Dr. Robert Newman, whose early life was a romance, and 
whose later years were filled with longings after scientific 
truths which forever eluded him. He read the great 
works of Newton on astronomy, and criticized them, but 
was never able to perfect his own theory. He had been 
hindered in his early years from acquiring a university 
education; and for this reason he ever afterwards felt him- 
self handicapped in his pursuit of knowledge. He was the 
author of a book on medicine. In early life he was a deist; 
but these views were modified in later life. Elsewhere in 
this book will be found more extended mention of Dr. 
Newman. 

In this old cemetery was buried Nathaniel Kuykendall, 
a character which stands out in bold relief. He had 
known the trials of this life; had known the' bitterness of 
desertion, and in all the vicissitudes of fortune he had been 
a man in all senses of the word. Here was buried Peter 
Peters; the aged and venerable Joseph Combs; and Eli 
Davis, the old jailor who faithfully performed the unpleas- 
ant duty of locking doors between unfortunates and free- 
dom, but who himself finally entered the narrow cell whose 
door will never be unlocked until the graves give up their 
dead. The old tavern keeper, Steinbeck, known to the 
early inhabitants of Romney, occupies the six feet of earth 
set aside for every man. He fares as well in this city of 
the dead as his neighbors, the scholarly Wodrow and the 
scientist Dr. Newman. Death levels all. Even the old, 



CEMETERIES OF ROMNEY. 425 



faithful slave, known only by the name of Mammy Betsy, 
occupies the same place of honor in the silent city, as those 
who in their lives believed that they were made of better 
clay. When that bourne is passed, from which no traveler 
ever returns, all differences soon pass away. "All that 
live shall share thy destiny." 

A willow tree once waved over the graves of Mrs. 
McG-uire, the mother of the second wife of William. 
Naylor, and the mother of Samuel McGuire, clerk of 
Hampshire county, in 1815, and. w T ho was a son-in-law of 
Andrew 7 Wodrow. The willow tree is gone. No man can 
now say which is the mother's grave, and w r hich the son's. 
That pag*e is missing- from the records of the dead. Not 
far distant is the grave of Mary, the wife of William S. 
Naylor. Old people used to remember her as a beautiful, 
light hearted girl, daughter of Mrs. Sarah Davis, w T ho is 
buried beside her. The girl gave her love and her hand to 
a stranger, and left Romney to make her home with him. 
In one year he brought her back a corpse, beautiful in 
death, and here she rests. Miss Charity Johnson, loved 
by all who knew her, has not been forgotten, although her 
grave has been negiected. Here is shown the grave of Dr. 
Dyer, and his story illustrates the irony of fate. He had 
been buried elsewhere, but was removed to this cemetery 
to be near friends; and now his grave is hard to find. 
Friends forget; for the dead cannot remember the dead. 
Dr. Snyder also was buried here. His skill as a physician 
was widely known; and he prolonged and saved many a 
life; but although "he saved others, himself he could not 
save," and here he lies, almost forgotten. Others have 
taken his place among the living*. Here were buried also, 
men whose names and the names of their descendants are 
identified with the history of Hampshire from its early 
years to the present. They are Jacob Heiskell, Samuel 
Heiskell, Adam Heiskell, and Elizabeth the daughter of 
Christopher Heiskell. 



426 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



The grave of Mrs. Fitzgerald has a pathetic interest. 
Her two sons went to the war of 1812 and both fell in bat- 
tle. When the news of their death reached her. she be- 
took herself to her bed, and never left it until carried to her 
.grave. Chichester Tapscott, a young- lawyer of promise' 
but whose delicate health stood in the way of success, is 
among- the dead. Near his is the grave of his sister, Mrs. 
White. The grave of a strang-er, whose only known name 
was Wood, may be pointed out. He died somewhat sud- 
denly while in Romney, and some one manifested enough 
interest in him to mark his grave. No one knows whence 
he came, nor whether he had a family. For years, per- 
haps, some one waited for his return, and never knew his 
Tate. But, the very fact that he was a strang-er caused 
him to be remembered, while those w T hose live.s were spent 
in Romney have been forg-otten. Another grave has an 
interest, not from the prominence or worth of its occu- 
pant, but because it shows that the greatest are not always 
the longest remembered, Elizabeth Evans, an outcast, an 
inebriate, welcomed to nobody's home while living-, was 
g'iven the same welcome to the tomb that all others receive; 
and her grave is pointed out to this da}^; but the names of 
those buried to the rig-ht and to the left of her are not 
known. Mr. and Mrs. David Griffith and Mrs. Catherine 
Cookus, well remembered by the older people of Romney, 
were buried here. John Baker White, and wife of» John B. 
White, have graven which have not 3 r et been lost.' J. B. 
Kercheval, grandson of the historian of the valley of 
Virginia, Samuel Kercheval, is buried here. ■ Adam Heis- 
kell, one of the first of that name to come to Hampshire, 
lies undisturbed, "waiting the judgrnent day." Few 
scenes of dang-er and hardships he did not look upon; few 
have shared, in greater glory than he, so far as heroic, serv- 
ice to one's country can bring glory to the soldier. He 
was one of Morg-an's men, and he fought unflinchingly in 
the darkest hour of the revolution. He was in the memor- 



CEMETERIES OF ROMNEY. 427 

able march to Quebec. "After life's fitful fever he 
sleeps well." A grand niece of Lord Fairfax is among- the 
dead who were laid to rest here. The grave of an insane 
man is said to be in the enclosure, but no mark now re- 
mains, nor is his name remembered. But it is related that 
his grave was dug near a remote corner, removed as far as 
possible from all the other dead. That was unnecessarv. 
So far as mortal' man can learn, there is no difference in 
the grave, or beyond it, between the philosopher Aristotle 
and the poorest lunatic. Opinion, creed and hypocrisy 
put up no bars across the avenues of immortality and eter- 
nity; although they erect many barricades this side. 

Another occupant whose grave can no longer be pointed 
out, is Thomas Rag-land, a young lawyer of promise, but 
who succumbed to consumption before he had fairly be- 
gun life's work. James Dailey was also buried there, one 
of the first inhabitants, a banker, and a relative of the 
Yv r ood family, from whom the count}' of that name in West 
Virg-inia received its name. Georg-e Porterneld is interred 
in the old cemetery. He is said to have been a member of 
the Porterfield family of the valley of Virginia, and a rela- 
tive of Colonel George A. Porterfield, who had charge of 
the first confederate forces that saw active service in 
northwestern Virginia, and who was defeated by General 
Kelley at Philippi, June 3, 1861. Neglected, overrun by 
cattle, uncared for by anybody, is the grave of one of the 
greatest men Hampshire has produced, William Mulledy. 
Born in 1796, of poor parents, without an introduction to 
men in high places, he pushed into the great battle of life, 
and by the splendor of his mental abilities he compelled 
recognition, and in his short life of only thirty-live years 
his name became known on both sides of the Atlantic as 
an ecclesiastic of the Roman Catholic church, and as an 
intellectual leader at the head of one of America's best 
colleges. He is mentioned elsewhere in this book. 

When the old cemetery became filled, a few years prior 



428 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



to the Civil war, the ground for a new one was procure d y 
large enough to meet the requirements of the people of 
Romney for a few generations. It is on a promontory y 
naturally sterile and barren, which juts out over the wide, 
South branch valley. The ground has been improved and 
beautified, and few more attractive cemeteries are in the 
state. There is, perhaps, not another one where the nat- 
ural scenery on all sides is finer. The Indians recognized 
this when they buried their dead there; although that be- 
nighted race had little conception of beauty. Their dull 
appreciation, however, saw that the mountains were in 
sight, and the river flowed beneath, and these features of 
nature they could understand. The mountains south and 
west are the flanking- ranges of the Alleghanies, and in the 
langnage of the Indians the name "Alleghany'' is their 
nearest expression of the idea of eternity. They were the 
eternal mountains, the everlasting- range; they went on 
forever. But, their conception of the idea of eternity par- 
took more of distance than of time. It cannot be stated as 
a fact of history that the Indians buried their dead on that 
promontory because of the wide view obtainable from that 
point, for it is not known when or why they used that bury- 
ing ground; but it is highly probable that the place was 
chosen because of its beaut}' and sublimity. It has never 
been a prevailing custom of the Indians to bury their dead 
on prominent highlands; but many instances are known 
wherein they did so, expressly for the purpose of giving 
their dead an opportunity of a perpetual view of their fa- 
vorite haunts while alive; in their simplicity supposing 
that the dead continued to partake of the sensations of the 
living- and to feel an interest in the affairs of their friends. 
No matter what was their motive, it is certain that a bury- 
ing place was there. A large mound, covered with pines,, 
not perhaps a century old, is a prominent feature of the 
cemetery. This mound ma}' contain the bones of a score 
of persons, or twice that number. It is built of boulders 



CEMETERIES OF ROMNEY. 



429 



and soil. The rocks are waterworn, and it is a common 
supposition that they were carried up from the river, half 
a mile away and two hundred feet below. Such may have 
been the source of supply, but it is not probable; at least 
it was not necessary to go so far for boulders. The ter- 
race is underlaid with such rocks, with a few feet of earth 
on top; and where the neighboring- ravine cuts the terrace 
the boulders may be picked up in large numbers within 
fifty yards of the mound. Indians would not likely carry 
them from the river when they could obtain them within a 
few steps. The mound has been opened and numerous 
fragments of bone were found; but all indications were 
that the tumulus was old, prehistorical. It was more than 
an ordinary grave; how much more, must forever remain 
unknown. 

4 



CHAPTER XXXVIIL 



»o« 

ROMNEY LITERARY SOCIETY, 

BY ITU MAXWELL. 

The Literary Society of Romne}?" dates from January 30, 
1819. It is the oldest literary society in the state, and 
there are few older in the United States. It is believed 
that not one of the original members is living-. Never at 
one time were there more than fifty-two members on the 
roll, and there is no record that of this number more than 
seventeen were ever present at one meeting-. The work 
accomplished by these few energ-etic citizens of Romney is 
astonishing-. No other one thing- in the history of the town 
has had such lasting- results for g-ood. The founders did 
not appreciate what a great work they were inaugurating 
when they entered upon it. On the evening- of January 30, 
1819, ten gentlemen of Romney met in the office of Di% 
John Temple to organize a literary society. Those present 
on that occasion were Samuel Kercheval, Charles T. Ma- 
g-ill, John Temple, Thomas Blair, James N. Stephens, 
Nathaniel Kuykendall, David Gibson, W. C. Wodrow, 
James R. Jack and William C. Morrow. They organized 
by electing Mr. Kuykendall chairman and Mr. Magill sec- 
retary. The business of the evening was the appointment 
of a committee to draft a constitution. This committee 
reported at a meeting held February 4, 1819. The provi- 
sions of the constitution were, that the organization should 
be known as "The Polemic Society of Romney;" that the 
dues from each member should be fifty cents a month; 
that no political or religious question should be debated 
unless in the abstract and in general terms; that after the 



ROMNEY LITERARY SOCIETY. 431 

running- expenses of the society had been paid, the remain- 
ing funds should be expended in buying- books; that a mem- 
ber who should use profane lang-uag-e in presence of the 
society, or bring- spirituous liquors to the meeting-s, should 
be fined one dollar for each offense. The election of offi- 
cers resulted in the selection of Mr. Mag-ill as president, 
Mr. Wodrow secretary, and Dr. Temple as treasurer. 
This constitution was adopted February 4, 1819. 

The next meeting- was held in the court house, Febru- 
ary 13, and the debate for the evening- was on the question: 
"Ought a representative be g-overned by instructions from 
his constituents?" The decision was for the affirmative. 
On February 19 the question for debate was: "Is educa- 
tion in a public school better than that of a private school?" 
The decision was in favor of the public school. At this 
meeting the first money appropriated by the society was 
paid the doorkeeper. The sum was twenty-five cents. On 
February 26 the affirmative won in a debate on the ques- 
tion: "Is a system of banking- advantageous to a com- 
munity?" On March 6 a question somewhat more psycho- 
logical in its nature was discussed. It was an abstract 
question of religion: "Can the human mind, by its own 
reflection, arrive at the conclusion that the soul is immor- 
tal?" The society decided in the negative. For ten years 
the society met at least twice a month, and usually four 
times. The questions debated covered all ranges of top- 
ics, scientific, religious, political, social. Some of them 
may have been "in the abstract so far as politics and 
religion are concerned," at that day, but viewed from the 
present standpoint, some of them seem almost partisan. 
For example, they debated and decided in the negative the 
question: "Is a protective tariff detrimental to the inter- 
' ests of the country?" 

The first money to buy books was appropriated April 23, 
1819. Two volumes were bought, "Plutarch's Lives of 
Illustrious Men" and "Vallett's Laws of Nations." This 



432 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



was the humble beginning- of the splendid library accumu- 
lated during the succeeding- forty years, and which was 
scattered and almost destroyed during- the Civil war. On 
Jul}* 2, 1819, the balance of money in the treasurer's hands 
was two dollars and forty-six cents, but by October 23, 
following', sufficient funds were on hand to buy ''Rollins' 
Ancient History," "Lewis' Roman History," and "Robert- 
son's History of Charles the Fifth." No more books were 
"bought till near the close of the next year, when "Livy," 
"Tacitus" and "Marshall's Life of Washing-ton" were pur- 
chased. Three months later a bookcase was purchased. 
About this time, 1821, an act was passed by the Virginia 
assembly incorporating- the "Library Society of Romne}*." 
The charter granted was not satisfactory to the society, 
because it required chang-es which had not been asked for, 
one of which was the name. The members considered 
that they had a "literary" society, not a "library" society. 
The assembly was asked to amend the charter, which was 
done a year or so later, and after many delays and debates 
the new charter was accepted by the society February 4, 
1823, and it became "The Literary Society of Romnev," a 
name which it ever after retained. 

In April, 1821, the new books added to the library were 
"Hook's Roman History," "Herodotus," "Travels' in 
Greece," "Modern Europe," "Ramsay's History of the 
United States," and the "Works of Benjamin Franklin." 
In May, 1822, a spirited debate took place on the question: 
"Is it to the interest of the people of Hampshire to 
encourag-e the canalling of the Potomac?"- Unfortunately, 
no record exists of the arguments advanced in this dis- 
cussion, but the decision was that it would be detrimental 
to the interests of Hampshire countj^, to have a canal built 
along the Potomac. It is presumed that the objection to 
the canal was that it would destroy the business of team- 
sters who hauled merchandise from the east. Such, at 
least, was the objection to building the Baltimore and 

30 



* 



ROMNEY LITERARY SOCIETY. 433 

Ohio railroad. The society had passed a by-law that any 
member who published one of his own, or anybody else's, 
speeches delivered before the society should pay a fine of 
five dollars. Consequently no speeches were published. 
The society adopted a new constitution in 1824. 

In the eleven years, between January 30, 1819, and Jan- 
uary 22, 1830, the names of fifty-two members appear on 
the books of the society. They were: Francis A. Arm- 
strong-, Thomas Blair, Joseph W. Bronaugh, R. W. Baker, 
James H. Clark, William Curlett, James Bailey, Andrew 
Yv. Dailey, Joseph P. Eblin, David Gibson, James Gibson, 
Andrew Gibson, Isaac A. Inskeep, Henry M. Ioskeep, 
James R. Jack, C. T. Jack, John G. Jack, Samuel Kerch e- 
val, Nathaniel Kuj'kendall, Thomas McDonald, Charles T. 
Mag-ill, John McDowell, William Mulledy, Alfred T. 
Mag-ill, Angus McDonald, Edward C. McDonald, John H. 
McEndree, Henry M. Machen, William S. Naylor, Robert 
Newman, William Nalyor, Granville Newman, E. W. 
Newton, Cuthbert Powell, James Parsons, Peter Peters, 
Thomas Rag-land, James M. Stephens, John Snyder, 
William Sherrard, John Temple, Warren Throckmorton, 
.William Thompson, Chichester Tapscott, Newton Tap- 
scctt, John A. Thompson, Yv r illiam C. Wodrow, John B. 
White, Thomas B. Yvhite, Washington G. Williams, Neffi 
Armstrong-. 

No record of the proceedings of the society can be 
found covering- the period from January 22, 1830, to May 
15, 1869, nearly forty years. The records of this period 
are supposed to have been destroyed during the war. 
This is to be regretted, because during that period the 
society did its great work. Without doubt many members 
were on the rolls during* these years whose names cannot 
now be ascertained; but, although the historian is com- 
pelled to pass over their individual acts without mention, 
yet the result of their work stands as a monument to their 
memory. It is learned from the proceedings of the Yir- 



434 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



ginia assembly, and from other sources, that the great 
work of the society began in 1832. On January 6 of that 
year the assembly passed an act authorizing the society to 
raise by lottery the sum of twenty thousand dollars to be 
expended in educational purposes. A detailed statement 
of how the money was expended cannot be found; but it is 
known that large sums were paid for books; a building- 
was erected; strong financial support was given to the 
Potomac academy, which stood near the site of the present 
court house. On Febuary 15, 1844, the Virginia assembly 
passed an act authorizing the society to donate to the Rom- 
ney academy the balance of the money raised by lottery; 
and on December 13, 1846, another legislative act was 
passed empowering the society u to establish at or near the 
town of Romney, a seminary of learning for the instruction 
of youth in the various branches of science and literature; 
and the society may appropriate to the same such portion 
of the property which it now has or may hereafter acquire, 
as it may deem expedient." In accordance with this act a 
handsome building' was erected on the site of the present 
institute for the deaf and blind. In fact, the old building- 
forms a part of the larger institution, as will be detailed 
more fully in this chapter. The splendid library of the 
society was removed to the new building - , and a school was 
opened under .the most auspicious circumstances. Few 
schools in the state of Virginia at that time had access to 
better libraries. In September, 1849, the society prepared 
a code and a system of by-laws for the government of the 
Classical institute. 

In October of the same year the principalship was tend- 
ered to Dr. Foote, who considered the proposition and 
finally declined to accept it, and founded an opposition 
school, called the Potomac seminary. Thereupon Pro- 
fessor Meany was chosen as principal of the Classical in- 
stitute. The difference between Dr. Foote and the 
society, which led to bis refusal to accept the principal- 



ROMNEY LITERARY SOCIETY. 435 



ship, was in regard to the appointment of the assistant 
teachers and the amount of their salaries, and the manner 
of paying - them. The literary society and the school 
flourished until the beginning of the Civil war. The disas- 
trous four years, from 1861 to 1865, brought ruin to many 
a southern enterprise. The Literary Society of Romney 
suffered irreparable losses. Nearly all the members joined 
the confederate army, and the building and books remain- 
ing in Romney were considered legitimate plunder by the 
union troops. It is a wonder that a book remained. No 
list of the books at the commencement of the war can be 
found, but those who are familiar with the library say that 
fully three-fourths of the books were carried away or de- 
stroyed. The most valuable were never recovered. There 
were about three thousand volumes in 1861. About two 
hundred remained on the shelves when the war was over, 
but a considerable number of others were subsequently 
found, and the library contains perhaps seven hundred 
volumes now. But the value of these is greatly lessened 
by the sets being broken. Some sets of ten or twenty vol- 
umes now contain only three or four books. Other sets 
are all gone but one or two, and others are all missing. A 
cyclopedia which cost over eighty dollars, and was bought 
in 1826, is gone. It is no wonder that the members of the 
society were discouraged when they came home from the 
war and saw the ruins of the library which had cost much 
money and the labor of half a century. What remained 
seemed scarcely worth bothering with, and not until May 
15, 1869, was an effort made to revive the society and col- 
lect what remained of the boots. A meeting was called 
for that date, and the members who responded to the call 
were, A. P. White, William Harper, James D. Armstrong, 
A. W. Kercheval, Robert White, John C. Heiskell, Samuel 
R..Lupton, David Entler and James Parsons. Many who 
were members in 1861 did not respond to the roll call of 
the society in 1869. They were at rest in soldiers' graves 



436 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



by the rivers of Virginia. Those who were elected new 
members between 1869 and 1886 were, Lemuel Campbell, 
J. J. Inskeep, J. D. Parsons, Robert J. Pugh, John T. 
Vance, T. T. Brady, James A. Gibson, S. L. Flournoy, R. 
W. Dailey, Dr. R. W. Dailey, Henry B. Gilkeson, John C. 
Covell, E. M. Gilkeson, C. M. Davis, John S. Pancake, H. 
H. Johnson, C. S. White, R. G. Ferguson, I. H. C. Pancake, 
Wilbur Wirg*man. 

A new hall was erected in 1869 and in November of that 
year the remnants of the library, and the other property 
were moved to the new quarters. At that time the prop- 
osition of establishing a school in West Virginia for the 
deaf and blind was under consideration; and the literary 
society took up the work of securing the institution for 
Romney. On April 12, 1870, the society passed a resolu- 
tion by which it was agreed to deed, free of cost, the 
buildings and grounds of the Romney Classical Institute 
to the Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute, on condition that 
the institute be located in Romney. The regemts met in 
Wheeling April 20, 1870, and A. W. Kercheval and Robert 
White were sent by the Romney society to make the 
formal offer of the buildings and grounds to the regents. 
The offer was made, and in a short time was accepted by 
the regents. The society appropriated three hundred and 
twenty dollars, July 11, 1870, for the purpose of repairing 
and putting in good condition the building, preparatory to 
turning it over to the regents. The transfer was made, 
and the valuable property passed into the hands of the 
Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute. . 

After that the literary society met onlv occasionally. 
There is no record of any meeting from March, 1872, to 
April 1878. The last meeting- of wmich there is any record 
was held February 15, 1886. The full results of the labors 
of the Literarv Societv of Romney cannot be measured. 
The influence for good has been very g-reat. The principal 
visible results may be summed up in the collection of a fine 



ROMNEY LITERARY SOCIETY. 437 



library; the substantial support of the Romney academy; 
the founding" and support of the Romney Classical Insti- 
tute; and great influence and assistance in securing- for 
Romney the Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute. It detracts 
none from the credit due to others to say that without the 
aid of the literary society it is barely possible that the 
institute for the deaf, dumb and blind could have been 
secured for Romney. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 



<o» 

LITERARY WORKER?. 

BY HU MAXWELL. 

Hampshire county, which is pre-eminent in man}' thing's, 
is not wanting- in writers of note. Elsewhere in this book 
will be found a history of the newspapers and editors who 
have helped mold and lead public opinion in Hampshire; 
and in this chapter will be given a sketch of the lives, w T ith 
extracts from their waitings, of those w T ho have ventured 
farther into the fields of literature. 

John J. Jacob, father of Gov. John J. Jacob, published in 
1825 a book which possesses much historical value. It was 
the life of Michael Cresap, the well-known Indian fighter. 
Cresap lived opposite the mouth of the South branch, on 
the Maryland side of the Potomac, and after his death, 
Mrs. Cresap became the wife of Mr. Jacob. The purpose 
of the book was to correct a widespread error regarding* 
the part taken by Captain Cresap in the Dunmore 
war. The charg-e had been made, and w T as given 
wide circulation by Thomas Jefferson, and by other 
writers, that Cresap had murdered the family of the cel- 
ebrated Indian Chief Log-an, and by that act plunged the 
border into war with the Indians. Mr. Jacob's book un- 
dertakes to prove, and it does prove conclusively, that Cap- 
tain Cresap did not murder Log-an 's family, and that the 
Dunmore war w T as not broug-ht on by anything- done by 
Cresap. 

George Armstrong Wauchope, formerly of Hampshire- 
county, but now professor of English lang-uag-e and litera- 
ture in the university of Iowa, has won a reputation in the 



LITERARY WORKERS. 



439 



field of letters, both as a writer and editor. Ke was born 
in 1863, and graduated from the university of Virginia 
1884, and two years later received the degree of master of 
arts, and later that of doctor of philosophy. He taught 
Greek and Latin, and studied in Germany. Ke made a 
specialty of early English and the kindred languages, and 
won distinction in that field of investigation. He is one of 
the staff reviewers for The Critic of New York, and the 
editor of De Quincey's Revolt of the Tartars, and of the 
Confession. He has written in both prose and poetry. 
The following- sonnet on the death of Dr. William Shrader, 
who sacrificed his life while experimenting" with the Roent- 
gen rays on consumption germs, will show his style. 

O noble friend! high hopes inspired thy breast, 
Who lately wrapped all pale in Azrael's pall 
Was borne from sad Missouri's classic hall. 
Thou daredst unclasp old Nature's book, to wrest 
From some dim page of her fast-sealed bequest 
To mortals under foul disease's thrall, 
A potent charm, the dread fiend to appall. 
Unselfish, thou refusedst needful rest, 
But with unswerving- toil consumed the night 
On duty, testing the mysterious ray, 
An humble martyr to the cause of truth. 
Grasping- the white torch of world-girdling light, 
Thou hast passed forth, for the high g-ods did say, 
"Let him, our well beloved, die in youth!" 

Andrew W. Kercheval, born 1824, contributed much to 
the literary culture of Hampshire. He came from a 
family eminent for learning. On one side he was related 
to the Wodrows, an old Scotch family of sterling worth. 
He inherited French blood from his father's ancestors, 
who were Hug-uenots. They fied to England from France 
to escape persecution. There were two brothers of the 
name, Samuel and Lewis Kercheval, Samuel dying in Lon- 



440 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

don, Lewis making- his way to Virginia, and settling- near, 
the Chesapeake bay. There he married and reared a 
family. His sons moving- to the Valley of Virginia,. 
William, grandson of Lewis Kercheval the founder of the: 
American family, w T as one of the earliest merchants of 
Winchester, and his son, Samuel Kercheval, the historian, 
was born in Winchester before the Revolutionary war* 
Samuel was the father of twelve children, the eldest, 
Samuel, being a lawyer, and the father of the subject of 
this sketch. He came to Romney to write in the clerk's 
office under Andrew Wodrow, and married the clerk's 
daughter, Emily Jean Wodrow.. He lived for a time in 
Kentucky, but returned to Virginia where he died in 1840. 
Sketches of the other branches of the Kercheval family 
cannot be given here, suffice it to say that men of that 
family have been prominent in all the honorable walks of 
life in many states of this union. John Kercheval, a great- 
uncle of Andrew, was an efficient officer in the patriot 
array under Washington. He it was who carried' the 
wounded Reverend Charles Myron Thruston, the famous 
"lighting parson," off the battle field of Monmouth. Ben- 
jamin B. Kercheval was a prominent citizen of Detroit, 
Michigan, and was at one time the law partner of General 
Cass. Lev/is Kercheval, another member of the family, 
was one of the first mayors of Chicago. Captain Thomas 
Kercheval was an aid of General Harrison at the battle of 
Tippecanoe. Another Kercheval of the same family was 
an early mayor "of Nashville, Tennessee. 

Andrew W. Kercheval, nearly all his life, was a member 
of the Romney Literary society and contributed to the 
success which that society attained. He was a writer for 
newspapers and magazines, and undertook several preten- 
tious literary works, but never finished any of them. He 
published a pamphlet of criticisms and notes on a poem, 
"Idothea," written by Professor Joseph Saliards, of Vir- 
ginia. But Professor H. H. Johnson, of Romney, is 



LITERARY WORKERS. 



441 



entitled to a share of the credit for that pamphlet, as he 
and Kercheval wrote it tog-ether. Kerchevil undertook 
the compilation of an exhaustive history of the war of 1812, 
but never finished it. He also revised his grandfather's 
History of the Valley, but left the work in manuscript. 
He collected material for a History of the Upper Potomac, 
but that, too, was left unfinished. He commenced the 
study of many languages, and acquired considerable pro- 
ficiency in several of them, He read French, German, 
Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek and Hebrew. At the begin- 
ning- of the civil war he left Romney and went south, not 
as a soldier, but as a speculator. He had a contract to 
supply the confederate army at Richmond with soap, and 
realized a large sum; but the confederate money ultimately 
became worthless and he lost it all. 

Mr. Kercheval occasionally contributed verses to the 
newspapers. It is all in a dignified, serious, reflective 
strain, no touch of humor, with no satire in it. The fol- 
lowing extracts from longer poems will show the character 
of his verse: 

EPICEDIUM. 

Gone out the flame of those soul-lighted eyes, 
That flashed with glory, beamed with tenderness, 
Or rose in joy, and darkliest sank in gloom, 
Twin stars of hope and love, of faith and fame! 
And hushed that voice discoursing music rare, 
That wooed young love, and thrilled the hearts of men, 
An anthem rolled through vast cathedral aisles, 
Or clarion's blast or harp-string's dying- swell: 
And that heroic, faithful, generous heart, 
Shedding o'er life divinity and power, 
Crowning with glory the fair brow of love, 
To home, to altars, to bright honor true, 
Transformed to marble, by the touch of death! 

Alas my soul 
Is filled with sadness, even nature's face 



442 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Hath lost its old, accustomed lovliness, 

While memory sorrows for the cherished dead. 

Dead? Yet thy life unperi&hing remains, 

High, priceless thoughts, and winged words that bear 

Parturient power, and bright example given 

To teach us, while we waste or weary here, 

Truth, honor, genius triumph o'er the grave! 

life's mission. 
Prometheus-like, the fire celestial caught, 
Explore far fields of action and of thought, 
And then, O heart! subdued by toil and pain, 
Confess the rock, the vulture, and the chain! 
Ah, but to feel, in some awakened hour, 
The conscious pride of virtue and of power, 
Victorious eagles through the world to bear, 
To vanquish death and triumph o'er despair, 
To win from fate some envied, high renown, 
Or conquest's laurel, else the martyr's crown, 
With curious weapon that thyself hadst wrought 
In other years — old armories of thought. 
Yet this may be ambition's vainest dream, 
Like starlight mirrored in a treacherous stream. 
O God of Heaven, give me power to feel 
Truth in all brightness o'er my spirit steal; 
Subdue in me this earth born, lowly pride — ■ 
Hark! the good angel whispers at my side: 

"And canst thou o'er life's errors weep, 

Faith's utmost holy vigils keep? 

The oil of gladness sweetly shed 

Upon thy fallen brother's head? 

Affections' soft and shadowy wing 

O'er hearts that hate thee, gently fling? 

Canst thou, with equal mind, and great, 

Brave the Thermopylae of fate?" 

Above all fortune, even above the fame 



LITERARY WORKERS. 443 

That servile waits upon a great man's name; 
Brighter than all of worldly, vain success; 
Purer than all its vaunted happiness — 
To feel thou hast some path of duty trod, 
True to thyself, to country, and to God; 
Or won how well in glory's phantom field, 
"Non Omnis Moriar," written on thy shield! 
Do thou thy duty, duty's path is plain, 
And th}' life's mission shall not be in vain. 
A/fter the war Kereheval returned to Romney and spent 
i:he remainder of his life, dying- in 1896. He and his sister, 
Miss Mary S. Kereheval, lived together, and she survived 
him. 

James W. Horn, a resident of Capon Bridge, and a stu- 
dent in the West Virginia university, has occasionally con- 
tributed verses to the columns of the papers. One of his 
best, "Capon River," is here given: 

CAPON river. 
Capon river, sparkling water, 
Running, never asking rest; 
Old Potomac's southern daughter 
Rushing to your mother's breast. 

Bathing banks of bramble bushes, 
Shoving sand and shells ashore, 
Outward each broad breaker pushes, 
Reaching for a wider floor. 

Moistening massy beds of mosses, 
Sprinkling shining silver spray, 
Catching leaves the light wind tosses, 
Smiling in the glare of day. 

Drinking water from the mountains, 
Drinking autumn's chilling rain, 
Quaffing down the brooks and fountains, 
Breaking winter's icy chain. 

Stealing summer's sunny showers, 



444 



HISTORY OF .HAMPSHIRE. 



Draining- drops that try to stay 
On the bright and blooming bowers 
That above your sarface play. 

Here with gentle calmness flowing-, 
Making- motion merely seen; 
Here with, greater swiftness going 
Steep and stony banks between. 

Sometimes measured murmurs makings 
Sometimes music soft and low; 
Sometimes into torrents breaking-, 
Louder music, swifter flow. 

Peaceful, cheerful, ever singing-, 
Not despised althougm small; 
No city walls your echo ■ringing", 
Sounding- no Niag-ara Fall. 

Treasured not in song- nor story, 
Knowing- naught of history's page,. 
Covered not with fame nor g-lory, 
Acting in the current ag-e. 

Yet to me, O, Capon river, 
There's no other river flows, 
That, of half the joys is giver, 
Which your daily song- bestows. 

Sing- more sweetly, sing- more loudly, 
Through the years that are to be; 
Flow more grandly, flow more proudly, 
With the seasons, fast and free. 

H. L. Swisher was born in Hampshire county in 1870; 
passed his early years on the farm of his father, on the 
Levels. At eighteen years of ag~e he became a school 
teacher in his native county. Later he attended the state 
normal school at Fairmont, and graduated. After visiting 
the northwestern states, and making a journey through 
Manitoba, Assiniboia, Alberta and British Columbia, be 



LITERARY WORKERS. 



445 



spent two years in California, part of the time teaching- 
school. After that he returned to West Virginia and en- 
tered the university at Morgan town, graduating in three 
years. While in that institution he edited the college 
paper, the Athenaeum. In the meantime he published a 
small book of poetry, containing about six hundred lines, 
and dedicated it to his class-mates in the normal school. 
He contributed numerous articles to the newspapers while 
in the w r est, usually in prose, but occasional!} 7 in verse. 
He was one of the authors of the present volume, the His- 
tory of Hampshire County. Extracts from his published 
verses follow: 

LOTTIE DO ON. 

No more the angels come to earth, 

I've heard them say. 
This was, in truth, my thought 

Until today; 
But now I know they come, 

A bright boon; 
For I have seen thy face, 

Lottie Doon. 

Not of earth were you born, 

This I know 7 ; 
You w T ing-ed your way from heaven 

To us below T . 
Your smile would change the midnight 

Into noon. 
It has banished all my sorrow, 

Lottie Doon. 

There is beauty in your face, 

This is true; 
But 'tis not half the beauty 

Seen in you. 
Your cheeks are like the roses 

Blowm in June, 



446 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Yet more beautiful your soul, 
Lottie Doon. 

For your soul shines in your face, 

Gladdening- all, 
And to worship at your feet 

I would fall. 
Your pathway all througm life 

Shall be strewn 
With sweet flowers of adoration, 

Lottie Doon. 

All homage you may ask 

Shall be given, 
Ere from us you shall go 

Back to heaven. 
Earth's harps shall for you play 

A glad tune, 
If with us you will stay, 

Lottie Doon. 

THE SPRING 'NEATH THE OLD GUM TREE. 

There is many a spot on the old home place 
That I'm wishing and longing* to see, 

But the dearest of all is the meadow lot 
And the spring 'neath the old gum tree. 

At the harvest noon when the wheat in the field 

Waved a billowy, gulden sea, 
Round the clover heads the bumble bees croon 

By the spring 'neath the old &um tree. 

Oh, the shade was sweet, and the grass was green 

While, merry harvesters, we 
Spent a happy hour when we used to meet 

By the spring- 'neath the old gum tree. 

The spring bubbled up with a laugh on its lips, 

And danced away to the sea, 
While again and again we filled the cup 



LITERARY WORKERS. 



447 



From the spring- 'neath the old gum tree. 

But those days are fled in the din of life 

And never more shall I be 
With the harvesters of then (who now are dead) 

By the spring- 'neath the old g-um tree. 

So, there's many a spot on the old home place 
That I'm wishing- and longing- to see, 

But the dearest of all is the meadow lot, 
And the spring- 'neath the old g-um tree. 

BOHEMIAN LOVE SONG. 

We are poor, dear heart, but we will feig-n 
That we a castle have in Spain. 
When clouds are dark and storms are high. 
Tog-ether we will thither fly. 

Around it spreads the living- green, 
Above it bends the smiling- sk}~; 
'Twas meant, my love, that you and I 
Should reig-n within as king- and queen. 

We are sad, dear heart; but we will feign 
That we a castle have in Spain, 
Where tears flow not and hearts are light, 
Where lips are red and eyes are brig-ht. 

We are faint, dear heart, but we will feign 
That we a castle have in Spain, 
Where love doth wield her magic spell 
And faith and hope together dwell. 

The windows dance a diamond sheen, 
The slim spires sparkle toward the sky; 
I am sure, my love, that you and I 
Ere long shall reign there king and queen. 

k he following verses are samples of a translation froim 
French of Beranger, "Shooting Stars:" 
Shepherd, say you that in the skies 



448 HISTORY OF -HAMPSHIRE. 



Gleams the star that guides our sail? 
'Tis so, my child; but from our eyes 
Night hides that star within her veil. 

Shepherd, 'tis thought, with mystic art, 

You read the secret of the skies: 
• What is that star which downward darts, 
Which darts, darts and darting dies? 

My child, an erring mortal dies, 

And instant downward shoots his star; 

He drank and sang amid the cries 

Of friends whose joys no hatred mars. 

Happy he sleeps, nor moves, nor starts; 

After the wine he quiet lies — 
Another star is seen which darts, 

Which darts, darts and darting dies. 

Marshall S. Cornwell was born in Hampshire county, 
October 18, 1871. His boyhood was spent on his father's 
farm, about twelve miles from Romney, where he had the 
benefit of the country schools. He ventured upon busi- 
ness for himself as editor of the Gazette, at Petersburg, 
Grant county, West Virginia. He made a success of this, 
and by his vigorous editorials attracted attention beyond 
the borders of his county. He was invited by United States 
Senator Stephen B. Elkins to take charge of the Inter- 
mountain, a newspaper published at Elkins, in Randolph 
county, West Virginia. He accepted the position and 
built up an excellent paper. He filled a position as clerk 
during a session of the state legislature at Charleston. 
His health failed, and in 1896 he was oblig*ed to give up his 
newspaper work. He spent the winter in Florida, where 
he was not idle, but occupied his time studying the charac- 
ter of the country and people. The result was, he wrote 
with a keen appreciation of what he saw. 

The letter which will be found below w T as written by 

31 



MARSHALL S. CORNWELL. 



LITERARY WORKERS. 



449 



James Whitcomb Riley, the poet, and the poem to which it 
refers is also given: 

"Indianapolis, Ind., March 12, 1897. 
"M. S. Corn well, Esq. Dear Sir: — By the poems you 
send me, especially the one 'Success,' your gift seems gen- 
uine and far above that indicated in verse, meeting general 
approval. Your own philosophy in last stanzas of 'Suc- 
cess' contains the entire creed of fame or failure for the 
striver, in any line of art, in this world's order and condi- 
tions. You can succeed, but must be of stoutest heart and 
hope and patience — just as every master before our time. 
Therefore let us read their lines as well as works, and in 
between the lines down fathoms deep. Remain firmly 
superior to all trials; keep sound of soul and always hale of 
faith in all good things. Yv 7 ork and enduringdy rejoice in 
your work and utter it ever like a jubilant prayer. 
"Fraternally yours, 

"James Whitcomb Riley." 

SUCCESS. 

Two ships sail over the harbor bar 

With the flush of the morning breeze, 
And both are bound for a haven far 

O'er the shimmering summer seas. 
W T ith sails all set, fair wind and tide, 

They steer for the open main; 
But little they reck of the billows wide 

Ere they anchor safe again. 

There is one perchance, ere the summer is done, 

That reaches the port afar; 
She hears the sound of the welcoming gun 

As she crosses the harbor bar. 

The haven she reaches, success, 'tis said, 

Is the end of a perilous trip. 
Perhaps the bravest and best are dead 

Who sailed in the fortunate ship. 



I 



450 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

The other, bereft of shroud and sail, 

At the mercy of wind and tide, 
Is swept by the might of the pitiless gale 

'Neath the billows dark and wide. 
But 'tis only the one in the harbor there 

That receiveth the meed of praise; 
The other sailed when the mora was fair, 

And was lost in the stormy ways. 
And so to men who have won renown 

In the weary battle of life, 
There cometh at last the victor's crown, 

Not to him who fell in the strife. 
For the world recks not of those who fail, 

Nor cares what their trials are, 
Only praises the ship that with swelling- sail 

Comes in o'er the harbor bar. 

SOMS DAY. 

Some day through the mists of the earthly night 
We shall c?xtch the gleam of the harbor light 
That shines for aye on the far off shore 
Where dwell the loved who have gone before; 
We shall anchor safe from our stormy way 
In that haven of rest, some day, some day. 
Some day our sorrows will all be o'er 
And we'll rest from trouble forevermore: 
When over the river's rolling tide 
We shall "strike glad hands" on the other side. 
In the city celestial, at last we ma}* 
Rest in peace, some day, some day. 
Some day will close these weary eyes 
That shall look no more on the earthly skies, 
And over the heart that has ceased to beat 
Kind hands will place fresh flowers sweet; 
But my soul shall hear the celestial lay, 
Sweet pasans of praise, some day. 



LITERARY WORKERS. 



451 



AN INVOCATION. 

Give me oh Lord of Life, I pray 
A little love lest I should stray. 
'Tis this I ask and this alway 
Unto the end of life's brief day. 

I crave no storm of passion's flood 
That madly stirs the human blood, 
Only the love of friend for friend — 
And it be faithful to the end. 

For human hearts have human needs; 
And naught of piety or creeds, 
Of peace can give to souls forlorn 
That stem alone life's battle-storm. 

I ask not wisdom — the divine; 
For death shall make this soul of mine 
To heights and depths of knowledge vast 
When outworn dreams of earth are past. 

A little love alone I crave 
To light my pathway to the grave — 
The hand of friendship tried and strong 
To steer my shattered barque along, 

Until at last the sail is furled 
In the wide bay where tempest hurled 
Storm-riven wrecks from time's rough sea 
Ride safe through all eternity! 

Dr. Robert Newman, author of a book on the Treat- 
ment of Dropsy, was a noted man in his day. He wrote 
many books, but published only the one above mentioned. 
He was philosophical in his tastes; and, while he practiced 
. medicine and achieved distinction in that field, hft found 
time to prosecute investigation along- other lines. He was 
born in Culpeper county, Virginia, in 1770. His youth 
passed with nothing to distinguish him from others of his 
age and circumstances. He was the youngest of six 



452 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



brothers, and of a delicate constitution. In 1791 all six 
brothers joined the army under General Arthur St. Clair, 
and took part in the battle of November 4, of that year, 
against the Indians north of Cincinnati. St. Clair's defeat 
is one of the saddest pag'es in American history. Of the 
nine hundred soldiers who went into action, more than six 
hundred were left dead on the field of battle. They had 
met the allied army of all the Indian tribes of Ohio and 
Indiana: With this overwhelming- force, they, 

"Fought eye to e} r e and hand to hand; 

Alas, 'twas but to die! 
In vain the rifle's deadly flash 
Scorched eagle plume and wampum sash, 

The hatchet hissed on high; 
And down they fell in crimson heaps, 
Like the ripe grain the sickle reaps." 

The exhausted and panic stricken fugitives made their 
escape to Fort Jefferson, near Cincinnati. Among those 
fugitives was the subject of this sketch, Robert Newman. 
Of the six brothers who went into the fig'ht, he alone 
escaped with his life. It might be supposed that he would 
have been satisfied with his experience and would have 
been content to return to the quietude of his Virginia 
home, and remain with his books, of which he was very 
fond. But, although he loved books much, he loved adven- 
ture more; and we next find him seeking his fortune on 
the banks of the Mississippi, the first years of the nine- 
teenth century. About that time Burr and Blannerhassett 
were engaged in a mysterious undertaking, never fully 
understood, but believed to have for its object the setting' 
up of a government on territoiw of Texas, which then 
belonged to Spain. At any rate, Burr and Blannerhassett 
were arrested, together with others, and v/ere tried in 
Richmond. Robert Newman was, by many, believed to 
have knowledge of the designs of Burr and his associates. 



LITERARY WORKERS. 



453 



He was summoned to Richmond as a witness, but, if he 
had any knowledge on the subject, he did not divulge it. 
He often spoke of the matter, but was careful in his state- 
ments, except that he frequently said that he considered 
the undertaking- a speculation rather than a plot against 
the government of the United States or any other govern- 
ment. 

Returning- from the south he married Mrs. Elizabeth 
Hancock, formerly Miss Neale, and made his home on the 
Potomac at Old Town, where he commenced the practice 
of medicine. He removed to Romney in 1820, when he 
was fifty years old, and resided there ever afterwards, en- 
joying- much local celebrity, especially in the treatment of 
dropsy and consumption. 

His views on religion have been spoken of in another 
chapter of this book, and his history as a physician in still 
another. It is proper here, in connection with his literary 
labors, to speak of his scientific studies. He was a man 
who merited notice in several fields of labor, in medicine, 
in science, in literature and religion. In astronomy he 
found pleasure, formulating theories which could not then, 
and cannot now, be substantiated by facts. Nor did he 
claim to substantiate them, and he knew of his failure, but 
he still hoped that the future would show that he was 
right. He wrote extended treatises on the subject, which 
he left in manuscript at his death. The outline of his 
theory of the movements of the heavenly bodies, as con- 
tained in his manuscript works, is as follows: Isaac New- 
ton was wrong in claiming that planets, and all heavenly 
bodies, are held in their orbits by the balancing of the cen- 
trifugal and centipetal forces, but these bodies are held 
apart by the elasticity of their respective atmospheres, 
which are in contact. He claimed that worlds are not so 
far apart, nor so far from ours, as mathematicians had 
calculated them to be; not that mathematics was unrelia- 
ble as a science, but that correct data had not been obtained 



454 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



on which to base the calculations. He replaced gravita- 
tion by magnetism, but in attempting- to show how all 
known celestial phenomena could be thus accounted for, 
he encountered problems which he could solve only by 
calling- in "electricity" as an assistant to magnetism. Had 
he been so fortunate as to have attained a thoroug-h educa- 
tion he would not have attributed to electricity everything" 
which could not be explained. 

Richard Newman w T as one of the founders, and most 
earnest supporters, of the Romney Literary society. He 
died January 28, 1843, in his seventy-seventh year. 

William Henry Foote is in the foremost rank among 
the literary men of Hampshire county, where he spent a 
long- life of activity working- in the cause of education, the 
church, and literature. The publication by which he is 
best known was "Sketches of Virginia, " printed in Phila- 
delphia in 1850, with a second and enlarg-ed edition later. 
It is the best history of the Presbyterian church in Vir- 
ginia that had been written at that time; yet, it is not 
strictly a church history, but deals with persons, places 
and events. 

John O. Casler, author of a book widely read in Hamp- 
shire county, Four Years in the Stonewall Brigade, has 
contributed to the cause of literature and history; to the 
latter by preserving from oblivion facts which were fast 
passing beyond recall; to the former by writing in a plain 
and entertaining style. He was born in Frederick county, 
Virginia, nine miles from Winchester, in 1838. His 
mother's maiden name was Hieronimous, an old family 
dating back to the Revolutionary war. In 1841 his father 
moved his family to Springfield, in Hampshire county, and 
there the subject of this sketch grew to manhood. Early 
in 1859 he came to the conclusion, so common with the 
energetic young men of West Virginia, that the west 
offered better opportunities than could be found in his na- 
tive state, and he took his departure, and landed in Cass 



LITERARY WORKERS. 



455 



county, Missouri. He lived two years in that state, and 
no doubt would have remained had not the signs of the 
times portended war. He could have found all the fight- 
ing he wanted in Missouri, as subsequent events proved, 
but he preferred to cast his fortunes with Virginia', which 
he regarded as his home. He, therefore, returned to 
Winchester in the spring- of 1861, and after visiting- rela- 
tives in Frederick county, he passed into Hampshire, and 
at Blue's Gap, on the road between Romney and Winches- 
ter, he joined the company of Captain P. T. Grace, which 
had been organized at Springfield, and with nearly all the 
men he was personally acquainted. His book gives his 
experience in the war; and it has been consulted with ad- 
vantage by the authors of the present history of Hamp- 
shire. It was published at Guthrie, Oklahoma, in 1893. 

Howard Hill Johnson comes of a sturdy race of ances- 
tors remarkable for sterling qualities of mind and heart, 
and in some instances for broad culture and extensive 
learning. His father, Colonel Jacob F. Johnson, was for 
fifty years a prominent citizen of Pendleton county, and 
represented his county in the legislature of 1872-3. He 
held many other offices of trust and responsibility. His 
grandfather, James Johnson, represented the same county 
in th'e legislature of Virginia several times, and was a 
member of the constitutional convention of 1829. His 
great-grandfather, Joseph Johnson, was born in Pennsyl- 
vania of English parents, in the early part of the eighteenth 
century, and migrated to the Shenandoah valley during 
that remarkable movement which settled that part of Vir- 
ginia with the ancestors of the present enlightened popu- 
lation. He married there, and finally settled in Pendleton 
county about the time of the Revolutionary war, or shortly 
before, where he raised a family of several children late in 
life. He was' past age for service, and his children were 
not old enough to engage actively in the struggle for 
independence. 



456 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



The subject of this sketch was born at the old family 
home on Friend's run, near Franklin, in Pendleton county, 
Virginia, now West Virginia, February 19, 1846, and was 
soon found to be, like his elder brother James, almost 
totally blind. His parents were persons of superior 
judgment and information, and wisely arranged for 
the most favorable conditions to give their unfortunate 
offspring- equal opportunities and chances with their more 
fortunate brothers and sisters. The older brother was- 
entered at the institution for the deaf and the blind at 
Staunton in 1848, and finished the usual course there in 
1855. He became his younger brother's instructor at 
once, and prepared hirn for school with great care and 
ability. Two years later Howard was entered at the same 
school, and made rapid progress till he was obliged to leave 
off his training- by the opening- of the war 1861. By this time 
James had established himself as a teacher in his native 
county, and the young-er brother's education was little in- 
terrupted, as he went immediately into his brother's- 
school, where he was taught just as other children were 
taught, with the single exception, that his lessons were 
read to him by his schoolmates instead of by himself. To 
this circumstance, more than to any other, he attributes 
much of the success he may be thought to have achieved as 
a teacher of the blind. 

After two years he was considered to have covered 
enough ground to warrant his being placed in a classical 
school near New Market,' Virginia, under the care of Jos- 
eph Saliards, a most remarkable scholar in many respects. 

During the two years he spent in this school under his 
learned preceptor he made considerable progress in math- 
ematics, literature, science, and the languages, and when 
the war closed he and his brother opened a school of high 
grade at Franklin, in which many of the young men of the 
neighborhood who had been deprived by the war of their 



LITERARY WORKERS. 457 

school advantages, found ample opportunity of preparing- 
themselves for the duties of life and business. 

In 1866 the institution at Staunton offered the young* 
' student-teacher advantages in the prosecution of his 
studies, which he availed himself of for one more term, 
greatly to his advancement. In September, 1867, he began 
a school at Franklin under the provisions of the free school 
system which had just g-one into effect in Pendleton 
county. The next year he was called to Moorelield, where 
he taught the public school for three successive terms, with 
great acceptance. 

During- his years of early teaching- he had noticed with 
regret and concern, that there was no provision in the gen- 
eral system for the education of the blind in his native 
state, and he soon set for himself the task of supplying- 
this defect, and of removing from the fair fame of his be- 
loved state this apparent reproach. Accordingly, in 1870, 
he realized his most sanguine expectations in seeing the 
establishment of a school for the education of the deaf and 
the blind at Romney, in w T hich he was made the principal 
teacher in the blind department, and where he is at this 
writing-, entering- on his twenty-eighth term of service. 

In 1877 Mr. Johnson received from the Virginia Poly- 
technic institute at New Market, the successor to his old 
friend's school, the degree of A. M. throug-h the kind par- 
tiality of Professor Saliards, an honor not unworthily be- 
stowed, and most gratefully appreciated. 

He had married in 1868 a Miss Barbbe of Virginia, to 
whom were born three children, Leila B., William T. and 
H. Guy Johnson. He lost his wife in 1880, and the care of 
his little family was kindly assumed by the grandparents, 
at Bridgewater, Virginia. In 18S2 Mr. Johnson married 
again, his second wife being- Miss Elizabeth Neale, daugh- 
ter of Dr. Hamlet V. Neale of Keyser, West Virginia. 
George N. and Lucy N. are the only children of this 
marriage. 



458 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



The lessons of this sketch are valuable in their bearing- 
on the education and training- of blind children. The wis- 
dom and thoroughness of Mr. Johnson's home training- are 
credited by him with whatever he has been able to accom- 
plish, either for himself or his fellows under the like cloud 
of blindness, to the amelioration of whose condition he has 
devoted himself with singleness of heart. 

Mr. Johnson has written in both prose and verse. His 
prose writings treat chiefly of educational topics, particu- 
larly in relation to the blind. A few selections from his 
poems are given: 

A QUESTION. 

Man, thy virtues shine not faintly; 

But magnificently the}^ blaze. 
Say, thy neig-hbors deem thee saintly: 

Art thou worthy of their praise? 

BLINDNESS. 

Ah, veiled and clouded in eternal nig-ht, 

The opening- blossom, and the verdant plain, 

And landscapes, smiling- in the mellow lig-ht, 
On me expend their holy charms in vain. 



INTUITIVE LOVE. 

The fragrance that bursts from the bosom of nature 
And spreads to the star-spang-led heavens above — 

O, that rich exhalation, ethereal teacher — - 

Bids us act by the instinct God gives us to love. 



HYMN TO SPKING. 

The black austerity of snow clad hills, 

Of icy forests and of frozen rills, 

Of winter howling- througii the leafless trees 

With notes all mournful as he rules the breeze, 

Has rolled its glittering- armanent afar 

With polar strands and artic seas to war. 

Adieu, dread tyrant of the year, adieu 



LITERARY WORKERS. 



459 



Till ice-wrought shackles bind the world anew. 

All hail, thou balmiest season of the year, 
The summer's cradle and the winter's bier! 
Thee I salute, thou soft, etherial spring- 
That all the charms of sunny south dost bring-, 
Of fields conceiving- in the warm embrace 
Of g-enial sunshine every living- grace 
That decks the carpet of the verdant sod 
And wafts its grateful incense to its God. 

Since last thy banners were unfurled around; 
Since last thy presence spread the naked ground 
With softest carpeting- of heaven-dyed hue, 
Sight-soothing - green 'neath heaven's expanse of blue, 
The summer's heat matured the welcome grain 
That waved all golden on the fertile plain. 
His withering scepter then the autumn swayed, 
And field and forest each his lord obeyed. 

Then rose the winter in the endless train, 
And spred his snows upon the prostrate plain; 
And one interminable shroud of white 
Concealed decaying nature from the sight. 

Thrice curved the vestal sovereign of the night 
Majestic o'er the glittering fields of white, 
Ere winter ceased impetuous wrath to vent; 
Ere all the fury of his storms was spent, 
Then slow retiring to the arctic main 
He leaves thee, Goddess, to resume thy reign. 

At first, kind subject of the muse's song, 
Thy march was doubtful and thy halts were long. 
For winter, glittering in his cave of snow, 
Was loth to battle with so fair a foe; 
Yet, proud and arrogant as foemen are, 
•He left ZEolus to support the war. 

In vain, he labored to subdue thy might, 



460 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Exhaust thy patience in the airy flight; 
In vain, his hostile leg-ions of the air 
Around him rallied in their last despair. 
Repulsed, and flying- in impetuous haste, 
They left thee sovereign of a desert waste. 

The wandering- breezes, ever circling- round, 

At last submitting-, thoug-h at first they frowned, 

And disengaging their ethereal mold 

From wintry vestiges of piercing cold, 

Now stand, expectant of thy kind command 

To waft thy fragrance o'er the smiling land. 

At thy sweet bidding, too, thou vernal Care, 
The joyous, swift-winged messengers of air 
Will bear to regions yet confined in ice 
The greateful tidings of the kind device 
That shines effulgent on thy flower-wrought shield 
And wakes new vigor in the torpid field. 
They'll tell the oppressor of the aching ground, 
With songs outgushing from the heart's profound, 
To heal the wounds of heartless tyranny, 
And, swift dispersing, leave the landscape free; 
For once again the bright, celestial fire 
Relights the pole, and frantic flames with ire. 

When last his chariot coursed its vernal path, 
The like indigmities awoke his wrath 
That wake it now; for fields he left in bloom, 
Now lie inhumed beneath an icy tomb. 
The sunbeams, dancing on the snowy plain, 
Will raise thick vapors to recruit the rain; 
Snows disappear as comes the vernal queen; 
Their white monotony is lost in green; 
They fall, as tyranny must ever fall, 
When weak subjection shall for mercy call. 

The high, celestial arbiter of light, 

Y\ 7 hose flaming disc consumes the shades of night, 



LITERARY WORKERS. 



461 



Controls thy seasons with omnific sway; 
Spring-, summer, autumn, even snows, obey; 
And, thoug-h they war, their conflict is in vain, 
As each, unrivaled, in his turn must reign. 

The w T orld, long - trembling- 'neath the wintry king - , 
Would never smile but for thy soothing wing-, 
Kind brooding- bird, the spacious womb of earth 
At thy command teems myriads at a birth. 
Thy g-enial presence, quickening- every grain 
That, smiling-, bursts beneath thy joyous plain, 
And shooting- upward to salute its queen, 
The world is carpeted in living- green. 
The hills, the vales, the landscapes far and wide, 
The rolling- prairies, and the mountain side, 
Proclaim thy praises, O thou g-od.dess fair; 
Their incense rises in the balmy air. 

Each shrub, thy altar, and thy priest, each rose 
That all the range of fragrant nature shows; 
Each grove, thy temple; and thy court, each plain. 
No earthly sovereign has so wide a reign. 
Dew-dissolved odors on the wing-s of morn 
Hig-h toward the vaulted skies are softly borne 
From opening- petals of symbolic love, 
From out the arbor, and from out the grove; 
From every turf that feeds the vital stock, 
From every cranny in the barren rock. 
To thee, O spring-, this offering- sweet is given; 
To thee whose presence makes the world a heaven. 

Wing-ed warblers, twittering- o'er the world of flowers, 

Enchant with melody the fleeting- hours; 

From nature's orchestra what notes arise 

In sweet vibrations througn the liquid skies! 

Such is the universal feast of spring-, 

Yet, all her sweetness she herself doth bring-. 

What, though contending- elements should war, 



462 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



And storms, fierce growling, should "be heard afar! 
What, thoug-h the clouds should quench the blazing- 
And spread thick darkness 'neath his highest noon! 
What, thoug-h the demons of the air attend 
And all their terrors to these terrors lend, 
Whilst lightnings, blazing- in the murky cloud, 
Presage in wrath the bellowing- thunders loud; 
When thunders bursting-, from the forg-er hurled, 
In peals terrific shake a startled world; 
Still thou art welcome to the earth most dear, 
Thou brightest, loveliest season of the year. 



CHAPTER XL, 

«o» 

SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND, 

BY H. L. SWISHES. 

There is no surer evidence of advancement in civilization 
in a state or community than that it has a care for those of 
its members who are unfortunate. When we remember 
how those physically or mentally unsound were treated in 
centuries past, and even today in those social societies 
where little advancement has been made, we can congrat- 
ulate ourselves that we live in a more enlightened time and 
country. 

Doubtless more than one person felt pity for those un- 
fortunate persons to whom the whole world of light and 
shade, the smiling- landscape, and sparkling stream is worse 
than unknown, before any active steps were taken to bet- 
ter their condition. In this state it was left for one who 
knew the hardship of sightiess eyes to do something for 
his fellow-beings who were afflicted in like manner. The 
history of the founding of this benevolent institution is so 
closely connected with the history of one man, who first 
gave it shape and has since devoted more than a quarter of 
a century of his life to its success, that it will be necessary 
before going further to give some account of his life. 

Professor H. H. Johnson, founder of the West Virginia 
schools for the deaf and blind, was born near Franklin, 
in Pendleton county, then in Virginia, February 19, 1846. 
From infancy he was afflicted with very imperfect vision, 
and in a few years became totally blind. Having heard of 
the Staunton school for the blind, he went there at the age 
of eleven and remained four years. His progress in his 



464 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



studies was remarkably rapid and his ability was a subject 
of remark among' his teachers and acquaintances. Leav- 
ing- Staunton, he went to his home at Franklin, where his 
brother, James Johnson, some years older than himself, 
was conducting - a school. His brother was also blind. 
After this he attended school at New Market, Virginia, for 
two years. His teacher while here was Professor Joseph 
Saliards, a ripe scholar, an able teacher and an author of 
considerable note. Professor Johnson was accompanied 
to New Market b}^ a young- man named Clark, who read 
his lessons for him and in turn was assisted by young- 
Johnson in his studies, especially in French, with which 
his blind friend had early made a familiar acquaintance. 
Leaving 1 New Market Mr. Johnson again returned to 
Franklin, where, during the winter of 1865-66, he taught 
a private school in connection with his brother. Not yet 
satisfied with his accomplishments in fields of study, in 
the fall of 1866 he re-entered Staunton school for the blind 
and remained there one year, taking- advanced studies. 

The next year we find him teaching- at Moorefield, and 
also the year following- he is at his post in the school room 
at the same place. It w T as early in the year 1869 that Pro- 
fessor Johnson became imbued with the idea of establish- 
ing- a school for the blind and so persevering-ly did he labor 
that his idea now has a material representation in the 
West Virginia schools for the deaf and blind. Governor 
William E. Stevenson had been recently inaug-urated and 
Professor Johnson opened a correspondence with him in 
reg-ard to his hope and ambition to found a school for the 
blind. The g-overnor assured him of his sympathy and 
support. Mr. Johnson then took it upon himself to make 
a canvas of the state, stirring- up public thoug-ht and dis- 
cussion concerning- his enterprise. Unquestionably much 
g-ood was done and it is doubtful if the bill could have been 
g-otten through the legislature the next spring- had it not 
been for the sympathy and g-ood will aroused by this .can- 



SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND. 



465 



vass. The legislature convened in Wheeling" on January 
18, 1870, and it was decided to make an effort to have the 
school established that year. With the bill already written 
Professor Johnson set out for Wheeling-. He was at this 
time only twenty-four years old yet he had undertaken a 
work from which many an older person would have shrunk 
and which was encompassed by so many difficulties and 
discouraging- circumstances that even a stout heart might 
well despair of success. 

On his way to V/heeling Mr. Johnson fell in with Ex- 
Governor Francis H. Pierpont at Fairmont and soon 
endeavored to get him interested in the proposed institu- 
tion. When asked to present the bill to the legislature he 
replied that he could not afford to connect his name with 
an enterprise so sure to fail. Hon. Joseph S. Wheat, the 
member of house of delegates from Morgan county, when 
approached in regard to the matter, declared the bill would 
fail because it ought to fail, the state, as he claimed, not 
then being- able to establish any more public institutions. 
Not discourag-ed by these rebuffs, Mr. Johnson persevered 
and through the kindness of some friends was granted the 
use of the hall of the house of delegates in which to give an 
exhibition in connection w T ith his brother, James Johnson, 
and Miss Susan Ridenour, also blind. This exhibition 
consisted of music, recitation and class drill. The hall 
was full of people who had gathered to witness the per- 
formance. After the exhibition was over Professor John- 
son arose and for an hour he reasoned and pleaded with 
the law-makers of the state for the establishment of a 
school for those who were denied the sense of sight. This 
speech had a wonderful effect, and, when he had closed, 
people crowded around to congratulate him upon his won- 
derful effort. Mr. Wheat who the day before had been 
opposed to the bill and had declared the measure ought to 
fail, pressed up to him and grasping his hand, said earn- 
estly, "Johnson, I'll vote for your bill if it costs a hun- 



466 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



dred thousand dollars." After this there was no lack of 
persons who were willing" to put the bill before the house. 
It was finally done by Hon. John J. Davis, Harrison county's 
representative. 

It must be remembered that all this time the labor was 
in behalf of a school for the blind. When the bill was put 
before the legislature no mention was made in it of a school 
for the deaf. After the bill had passed through all the 
stages necessary to becoming a law and just when it was 
at the last possible point where it could be amended, 
Hon. Monroe Jackson, of Wood county, offered as an 
amendment that the words, "deaf and dumb and" be in- 
serted before the word blind in every instance in which it 
occurred in the bill. The amendment was accepted and 
the bill became a law March 3, 1870, establishing- what was 
first called the West Virginia Institution for the deaf, 
dumb and blind. The dual character of the school is now 
more definitely shown by the name which has been 
changed to the West Virginia Schools for the deaf and the 
blind." 

Some of the provisions of this bill were, first: "That im- 
mediately after the passage of this act the governor* 
shall appoint one person from each senatorial district of 
the state, to constitute, collectively, a body corporate, with 
powers to rent, purchase and convey real estate, and with 
all the powers necessary for the establisment of a tempor- 
ary institution for the education of the deaf and dumb and 
blind youth of West Virginia, as hereinafter provided, and 
to be known as the Board of Regents of the West Virginia 
Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and Blind." Another 
provision was that "the board of regents of the West Vir- 
ginia Institution for the deaf and dumb and blind shall 
meet in Wheeling, at a time to be specified by the gov- 
ernor within a fixed period of three months after the pas- 
sage of this act, and shall proceed at once to adopt and put 
in execution the necessary means for the education of the 



SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND. 46T 



deaf and dumb and blind youth of West Virginia." The 
eighth section of the bill reads: "The board of regents in 
the establishment of the institution herein authorized, shall 
provide accommodations for not more than forty persons, 
at first, including- officers, assistants, etc. And they shall 
• authorize their principal to notify the principal of the Vir- 
ginia institution and the superintendent of the Ohio insti- 
tution for the deaf and dumb and blind, at as early date as 
practicable, of the time at which the West Virginia insti- 
tution for the deaf and dumb and blind shall be open and 
ready to accommodate the indigent and all other deaf and 
dumb and blind youth from this state, who have been so 
kindly and so liberally accommodated in their respective 
institutions; and the board shall at that time furnish the 
necessary means for the transportation of such indigent 
3^outh as may then be in said institutions, to their own in- 
stitution." 

Further on it was provided that "all deaf and dumb and 
blind youth, residents of the state of West Virginia, be- 
tween the ages of six and twenty-five years, shall be ad- 
mitted to pupilage in the institution on application to the 
principal until the institution is filled." 

In section eleven of the bill it is declared that: "In addi- 
tion to their other duties, the assessors of the state are 
hereby required to register in a book, to be fur- 
nished them by the auditor for the purpose, the names of 
all deaf and dumb and blind persons in their respective 
districts, with the degree and cause of their blindness in 
each case, as far as can be ascertained from the heads of 
families, or from other persons, whom the assessors may 
conveniently constflt, their ages, the names of their par- 
ents or guardians, their postofS.ee address, and such other 
circumstances as may constitute useful statistical informa- 
tion, in making the institution herein authorized promptly 
efficient in, ameliorating the condition of the deaf, dumb 
and blind by education." The last provision of the act ap- 



468 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



propriates "the sum of eight thousand dollars, to be paid 
out by the treasurer of the state, upon the order and --ar- 
rant of the board of regents of the West Virginia institu- 
tion for the deaf, dumb and blind; which sum shall be used 
by said board in meeting- the expenses of the establish- 
ment of the institution hereby authorized, and in support- 
ing the same from the date of its establishment to the 
thirtieth day of September, eighteen hundred and seventy- 
one." 

According to the first provision of the act the governor 
proceeded to appoint the first board. It was composed of 
the following members: 

Hon. Wm G. Brown, president, King-wood, Preston 
county; Rev. D. W. Fisher, Wheeling, Ohio count}'; Gen- 
eral D. N. Couch, Concord Church, Mercer county; Rev. 
T. H. Trainer, Benwood, Marshall county; Rev. R. N. 
Pool, Clarksburg, Harrison county; Col. G. K. Leonard, 
Parkersburg, Wood county; Hon. Henry Brannon, Weston, 
Lewis countv; J- D. Baines, Esq., Charleston, Kanawha 
county; Major J. H.Bristoe, Martinsburg-, Berkeley county; 
Prof. H. H. Johnson, Moorefield, Hardy county; Capt. A. 
W. Mann, Falling Spring, Greenbrier county. This board 
met in Wheeling, April 20, 1870, and proceeded to formu- 
late plans for the school. Towns and cities throughout the 
state were invited to compete for the location of the insti- 
tution; the one which would make the best offer was prom- 
ised the school. Wheeling, Parkersburg and Romne} 7 all 
offered strong inducements. Wheeling proposed to give 
the property known as the Female College, and so libera 
was the offer that it was decided to locate the school there. 
After the board had adjourned, however, the authorities 
were hindered from transferring the prapert}^ to the board 
by an injunction gotten out by friends of the Female Col- 
lege, who were unwilling to see that school discontinued. 
The matter was not contested. and at the next meeting, 
which was held at Parkersburg, June 23 of the same year, 



SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND. 469 



the board decided upon Romney as the place where the 
school should be established. The literary society and 
citizens of Romney agreed to give the building- known as 
"Romney Classical Institute," tog-ether with fifteen acres 
of land attached. This property was situated just east of 
the town. Its value was twenty thousand dollars. The 
acceptance of this offer gave the institution a home, and 
the only thing- yet to be done was the election of a corps of 
teachers. 

The board met again on July 20, 1870, in Romney. H. 
H. Hollister, A. M., a teacher in the Ohio institution, was 
elected principal at this meeting. The other teachers and 
officers chosen to serve at the same time, were Prof. H. H. 
Johnson, teacher in blind department; Holdridge Chides- 
ter and Miss Rosa R. Harris, teachers in deaf department; 
Henry White, watchman; Mrs. Lucy B. White, matron; 
and Dr. S. R. Lupton, physician.'* With this able crew at 
the helm the institution launched upon its career Septem- 
ber 39, 1870. Its success from the beginning was assured. 
The first year twenty-five deaf mutes and five blind pupils 
were enrolled. Robert White, secretary of the board of 
regents, in his report to Governor Stevenson at the close 
of the first year, says: "The board has to express its en- 
tire satisfaction with the present flourishing condition of 
the institution. The discipline, the progress of the pupils 
in their studies and their general improvement, deserve 
the highest commendation and entitle our deaf and dumb 
and blind institution to the unstinted patronage of the 
state." 

Some excerpts from the report of the principal for the 
first year may prove interesting. After some introductory 
remarks concerning the repairs made in the building and 
auspicious opening of the school, he says: "It is believed 
to be the first time in the history of similar institutions 
that the number of applications received before the open- 
ing was greater than the building could possibly accom- 



470 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



mo date. At the commencement of the session, or soon 
thereafter, thirty pupils (twenty-five mutes and five blind) 
were received. Among- these are three (two mutes and 
one blind) transported according- to law from the Virginia 
institution. The pupils were immediately classified and 
put under instruction. The teachers whom you appointed 
have all shown a commendable zeal and faithfulness in the 
discharge of their duty. Professor Johnson, in tbe in- 
struction of the blind, has displayed a marked ability 
which is showing, and will show, good results in this de- 
partment. Professor Chidester brings to us an expe- 
rience of fifteen years as private teacher and as instructor 
in a sister institution. His skill, diligence and enthusiasm 
are ample proof of the wisdom of the board in his appoint- 
ment. Miss Harris, in the facility with which she is ac- 
quiring the sign language and the peculiar processes of 
deaf mute instruction, gives promise of great future use- 
fulness. With the assistance of an advanced pupil she also 
gives musical instruction to the blind. The board were 
fortunate in securing- the services of Mrs. Lucy B. White 
as matron. She has discharged her duties with kindness 
towards all the inmates, and with a marked ability and zeal 
for the interests of the institution. The number of pupils 
already admitted is fully equal to the capacity of the build- 
ing-; and as if is, we have to dispense with many con- 
veniences which a well regulated institution should have." 

The following further quotation from his letter shows 
how a person may reconcile himself to the absence of con- 
veniences: "When the institution was located at Romney 
I felt that the lack of a railroad would prove prejudicial to 
its highest interests. But our location has advantages 
which are a larg-e compensation for our isolation. It gives 
us cheaper provision of every kind; it relieves us from all 
anxiety lest our pupils should wander away and be killed 
on the railway track, as has happened a score of times in 
other states, but above all, it gives us a retirement favora- 



SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND. 471 



"ble to the advancement of the pupils." Let another quota- 
tion, showing- the financial condition of the' institution, suf- 
fice: "From an inspection of the expenditures so far, it 
will be seen that the appropriation made by the last legls-^ 
lature is not sufficient to meet the expenditures of the 
establishment and support of the institution until Septem- 
ber 30, 1871. Of the eig-ht thousand dollars appropriated 
nearly one thousand dollars were expended before the 
organization of the institution could be completed. About 
three thousand dollars were expended for repairs and fur- 
niture. Thus about four thousand dollars were left for 
the support during- a little more than one year — a sum 
hardly sufficient to pay the salaries and wag-es of employees 
and the traveling- expenses of the board, leaving" no provi- 
sion for current expenses and clothing of indigent pupils. 
In view of all these facts I would ask an appropriation of 
five thousand dollars to meet the deficiency. Besides these 
amounts, not less than eleven thousand dollars will be re- 
quired to support the institution during- the current years 
of 1871 and 1872. Therefore I respectfully recommend 
that you ask our next legislature for fortj^ thousand dollars 
for the above purposes. 

"It is desirable at no distant day to make arrangements 
for the training* of the pupils m some useful trade. The 
trades most commonly taug-ht are carpentering-, printing- 
and shoe making- for the deaf, and broom making- for the 
blind. Permit me here to acknowledg-e the great assist- 
ance which Colonel Robert White, your secretary, has 
given me in the duties I have had to perform. The unfor- 
tunate children entrusted to our care owe him a debt of 
gratitude for the interest he has taken in their welfare. 
Also to acknowledg-e the skill with which Dr. Lupton has 
£>erformed his professional duties to the inmates of the in- 
stitution, and his many suggestions and cordial coopera- 
lion to promote the physical wellbeing- of the pupils." 

Such is the history of the founding- of the institution and 



472 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 

a review of its first year's work. This was twenty-seven 
years ago. Around the old "Classical Institute," as a nu- 
cleus, the beautiful and spacious buildings have grown- 
Two wings, each 70 by 30 feet, were added to the original 
building in 1871-72. This gave the building a front of 194 
feet. The same year thirty-three new pupils were en- 
rolled and many were turned away because of lack of ac- 
commodations. Mr. Hollister continued as principal for 
three years, and under his careful management the school 
grew from thirty in 1870 to seventy-seven in 1872. In Oc- 
tober, 1873, Mr. Hollister resigned to practice medicine. 

When Mr. Hollister severed his connection with the 
school, Dr. S. R. Eupton, who had been serving the institu- 
tion as physician since its foundation, was elected tempor- 
ary principal. On the 15th of December, of the same year, 
the board of regents met and chose Mr. C. H. Hill as prin- 
cipal. Mr. Hill was at that time a teacher in the Maryland 
school at Frederick city, and being offered additional in- 
ducements by that institution, declined the tendered prin- 
cipalship. The board met again on January 5, 1874, and 
selected Leveus Eddy, Esq., a teacher in the Wisconson 
school for the deaf, for principal. Mr. Eddy came imme- 
diately and took charge of affairs, but remained only until 
the next July. 

The same month the board elected Major John C. Covell 
to the prmcipalship, and in the fall of 1874 he beg*an his 
long- and successful career of thirteen years. Previous to 
this time Major Covell had for some }~ears been principal 
of the Virginia school at Staunton. The unprecedented 
success of the school under his management was largely 
due to his splendid scholarship and remarkable aptness,, 
coupled with wide experience, which he made to serve him 
in this work. The year preceding- the election of Major 
Covell showed a falling" off in the attendance of thirteen,, 
but under his administration the school at once began to 
grow. Finding that twelve out of the fifty-four counties 



SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND. 473 



in the state had no representatives in the institution, he at 
once urged upon the board of regents the necessity of 
making- a canvass to discover if there v/ere not in these 
counties persons who would be glad to avail themselves of 
the advantages of the school. His recommendation was 
adopted, and investigation showed that his supposition 
was founded on fact. In his first report he urged the 
necessitj^ of introducing gas into the buildings for pur- 
poses of light. This was afterwards done. The present 
supply of pure water is another improvement urged in his 
report and soon afterwards arranged for. 

' A new system of classification was introduced into the 
school in 1875, by which the pupils were arranged in 
grades similar to the present system. A committee con- 
sisting of Messrs. John Johnson, chairman; H. L. Hoover 
and John Wilson, jr., appointed in 1875 to examine 
into the condition of the school, gave in a very favorable 
and flattering report, Culminating- in the statement that, 
"in the judgment of the committee it can be said in refer- 
ence to this institution, from the board of regents and 
principal down through every grade of office that the right 
man is in the right place." It was the year following that 
•the first biennial report was published, covering the years 
1875 and 1876. Hitherto the reports had been published 
annually. 

It was recommended to the board at their June meeting 
in 1877 by the principal that they establish- the department 
of visible speech. The recommendation was considered 
and such a department was created. The things to be 
taught the deaf mutes in these classes were articulation 
and lip reading-. The position as teacher in this branch of 
the school was tendered to Miss Susie W. Allen, a distin- 
guished graduate of Professor A. Graham Bell's school in 
Boston. Miss Allen accepted the position and entered 
upon her duties on the 20th of November, 1877. 

When the institution was ten years old in 1880 the at- 



474 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



tendance had reached 120. Of these, eighty-seven were 
deaf mutes and thirty-three were blind. During- this year 
the following" distinguished gentlemen, Geo. W. Peterkin, 
G. W. Finley and C. F. Joyce, who, at the principal's re- 
quest, attended the annual examination of the institution, 
reported that: "The classes gave gratifying evidence of 
proficiency in their studies and of the diligence and faith- 
fulness of their teachers." They further report "the 
marked efficiency of the teacher of music, Mr. O. W. 
Schaeffer, and the progress of the pupils under his tui- 
tion." 

The annual appropriation for the years 18S5-89 was 
■twenty-five thousand dollars, which goes to show that more 
than three times as much was expended on this state 
charity in these years as was in the year of its organiza- 
tion. 

Thirteen }~ears of labor in the school on the part of 
Major John C. Covell was closed by his death June 4, 1887. 
Under his guidance the school had increased in attendance 
from sixty to one hundred and thirty. The benefits and 
influence of the Institution were made known in every 
section of the state, largely through his untiring labors 
an unflagging courage. The following resolution passed by 
the board of regents five days after his death, will serve to 
show the esteem in which he was held by that body: 

"Whereas, We have learned of the death of Major J. C. 
Covell, the late principal of the West Virginia Schools for 
the Deaf and the Blind, therefore, 

"Resolved, That we greatly deplore his loss to the Insti- 
tution over which he presided with such universal accepta- 
bility; that in his death we recognize the loss of a friend 
worthy of the fullest confidence and an official "of marked 
ability <and adaptation to his duties which he always per- 
formed with a faithfulness and efficiency unexcelled." 

No eulogy, however, could speak so high in his praise as 
the eloquent labors of love he performed when alive. Cast- 



SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND. 475 



ing about for a new principal to fill the now vacant place, 
the board was fortunate enough to fall upon Hon. H. B. 
Gilkeson, a prominent lawyer of Romney. Any special 
training- for this work that he lacked was amply made up 
by his broad culture and liberal education. His capacity 
for business enabled him to conduct 'the schools with 
economy and in a manner very satisfactory to the board. 
Mr. Gilkenson had left a lucrative law practice to assume 
the principalship and after a year's service he decided to 
return to his former more lucrative profession. 

After the resignation of Mr. Gilkenson the board in 
their meeting- in the summer of 1888 elected as principal 
Professor C. H. Hill, who was then teaching- in the- North 
Carolina Institution at Raleig-h. It will be remembered 
that Mr. Hill was offered the same position fifteen years 
before but had declined. This time, however, he accepted 
and entered upon his duties in September, 1888. His long- 
experience in this work before coming* to the Institution 
has enabled him to maintain the hig-h standard established 
by his predecessors as w T ell as to further advance the work. 
Under his administration numerous additions have been 
made to the building-s and many improvements made in 
other building-s previously erected. He early recom- 
mended the purchasing- of additional acreage of land to 
afford a place of recreation for the larg-ely increased num- 
ber of pupils. The building-s as they stand at present are 
very 'handsome and convenient. Two parallel building-s 
of equal dimensions, each one hundred and ninety-four 
feet in length, are joined in the middle by a cross building, 
which gives the whole structure the shape of the letter H. 
In the rear building, in the central part, is the general 
dining room on the first floor, school rooms on the second, 
with the third used as a chapel hall, and stairways in each 
wing communicate with these apartments so that the boys 
and girls can enter from opposite directions. The build- 
ings are all of brick and finished in the French style of 



476 



HISTORY OF. HAMPSHIRE. 



architecture. In the ends are extensive dormitories, sit- 
ting" room and hospitals. The bo} r s enter the north wing 
and the girls the south. The blind have exclusive use of 
the front building- while the rear is occupied by the deaf. 
The size of the chapel is 42x64 feet with a pitch of thirteen 
feet, and the g-eneral dining- room is 42x59 feet with a ceil- 
ing- ten feet high. Behind the main building and connected 
with it by a covered way is another brick structure, 40x80 
feet. In the basement of this is the laundry and boiler 
room. In the upper rooms of the same building- are the 
kitchen, storerooms and bakery. In the rear of the north 
wing- stands another large three story, brick building-, 
30x51 feet, in which the industrial classes are taug-ht. 
Somewhat further back stands a comfortable two-story, 
six-roomed brick building used by the servants connected 
with the schools. The g-reen campus in front is 
neatly mapped out by smooth walks covered with black 
shale that wind hither and thither among the trees and 
flowers and around the plots of fresh green grass. In the 
midst a pretty fountain jets its silver spray into the air, 
adding to the already beautif ul spot. 

The two-fold character of the school is recognized in the 
name by which it is now officially designated; "The West 
Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind." This title is 
first used in connection with the Institution, as it is still 
popularly called, in the biennial report for the two years 
closing September 30, 1896. 

At the last session of the legislature a bill was introduced 
for the separation of the two schools. The first section of 
the bill read as follows: 

"Be it enacted, That the West Virginia schools for the 
deaf and the blind, located at Romnev, in the county of 
Hampshire, shall, after the expiration of the present term, 
that is to say, after the 15th day June, 1897, cease to be a 
school for the education of deai and blind youth, and shall 
thereafter be a school for the education of deaf youth only." 



SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND. 477 



The bill then further provided for the establishment of 
a separate school for the blind. Professor H. H. Johnson, 
senior teacher in the blind department, framed the bill and 
labored for its passage, but it was defeated. 

At the last meeting of the board, July 14, 1897, Professor 
James P. Rucker was elected principal vice Professor C. 
H. Hill. Mr. Rucker was for several years principal of 
the g-raded school at Lewisburg", Greenbrier county. While 
he is without special training- for the work he will assume 
this fall, his energ-etic qualities and liberal education be- 
speak for him a successful administration. 

The following - tables contain a complete list of princi- 
pals, teachers and officers connected with the institution 
from its beginning- to the present time, with the dates of 
entrance to the school: 

Principals: Horace H. Hollister, 1870; Dr. S. R. Lupton, 
1874; Leveus Eddy, 1875; J. C. Covell, 1875; H. B. Giikeson, 
1887; C. H. Hill, 1888; James T. Rucker, 1897. 

Teachers in blind department: H. H. Johnson, 1870; 
Mrs. Cornelia Wilson, 1874; Miss Mag-gie Blue, 1875; Oliver 
W. Schaeffer, 1879; Mrs. S. E. Caruthers, 1880; Mrs. L.W. 
Campbell, 1886; Mrs. L. W. Ferguson, 1888; Miss Aanie 
Fetzer, 1894. 

Teachers in deaf department: Holdridg-e Chidester, 
1870; Miss Rose R. Harris, 1870; Miss Lucy White, 1871; 
Miss L. M. Kern, 1873; R. G. Ferg-uson, 1874; O. D. Cooke, 
1875; E. L. Chapin, 1875; Miss A. B. Covell, 1877; J. Brooks 
McGann, 1880; A. D. Hays, 1880; Miss M. H. Keller, 1890; 
John A. Boland, 1890; Miss Susie Chidester, 1894; J. W. 
Neel, 1894; A. J. Thompson, 1897. 

Teachers in musical department: J. H. Holmes, 1872; 
Oliver W. Schaeffer, 1877; William Mooney, 1885; Miss N. 
Lucas, 1885; Richard McGee, 1888; Miss Lena Wrig-ht, 
1897; Miss Leob, 1897. 

Teachers in the department of visible speech and artic- 
ulation: Miss S. W. Allen, 1877; Miss A. M. Grimm, 1884. 



478 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Matrons: Mrs. Lucy B. White, 1870; Miss M. McClel- 
land, 1873. 

Physicians: Dr. S. R. Lupton, 1870; Dr. John M. Snyder, 
1873; Dr. R. W. Dailey, 1874; Dr. S. R. Lupton, 1876; Dr. 
R. .W. Dailey, 1878. 

Watchman: Henry White, 1870. 

Governesses: Miss M. Blue, 1873; Mrs. S. E. Caruthers, 
1874; Mrs. L. W. Campbell, 1884; Mrs. S. E. Burke. 

Foremen of shoe shop: Henry Friddle, 1873; John S. 
Seeders, 1874. 

Foremen of broom shop: J. H. Holmes, 187^; Herbert 
Estes, 1874; H. C. Jackson, 1878; R. H. Cookus, 1880. 

Foremen of tailor shop: A. J. Kreamer, 1873; George 
Smith, 1876; William W. Smith, 1884; William G. Smith, 
1888; Louis Meier, 1890. 

Foremen of cabinet shop: H. C. Jackson, 1873; A. D. 
Hays, 1875; William Biefkamp, 1880; W. C. Bierkamp, 
1886. 

Foremen of printing- office: A. D. Hays, 1875; M. Reh- 
lian, 1888. 

Members of board of regents: First board, 1870: Hon. 
Wm. G. Brown, president; Rev. D. W. Fisher, General D. 
N. Couch, Rev. T. H. Trainer, Rev. R. N. Pool, Col. G. K. 
Leonard^ Hon. Henrv Brannon, J. D. Baines, Esq., Major 
J. H. Bristoe, Prof. H. H. Johnson, Capt. A. W. Mann, 
Capt. Robert V7hite, secretary. Second board, 1871-73: 
Hon. Wm. G. Brown, president; Rev. D. W. Fisher, chair- 
man executive committee: J. D. Baines, Esq., George W. 
Washington, Esq., J. C. Palmer, Col. Charles T. Beale, 
Geo. G. Orr, Esq., Col. Robert White, secretary. Third 
board, 1874-76: Thomas Maslin, president; Dr. George 
Baird, J. W. Mason, R. B. Kidd, Geo. G. Orr, G. W. 
Craig, W. S. Laidley, Isaac T. Brady. Col. Robert White, 
secretary. Fourth board, 1876-1880: M. F. Hullihen, M. 
D., president; J. W. Mason, W. S. Laidley, S. R. Lupton, 
M. D., G. W. Craig, John T. Pierce, Alex. Campbell, S. L. 



SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND. 479 



Flournoy, Henry B. Gilkeson, secretary. Fifth board, 
1880-84: J. R. S. Hardesty, M. D., president; Col. Geo. W. 
Thompson, N. D. Baker, M. D., John T. Pierce, Charles 
L. Payton, G. W. Craig-. John N. Holt, H. B. Gilkeson, sec- 
retary. Sixth board, 1884-88: John T. Pierce, president; A. 
L. Pug-h, Charles L. Peyton, George Baird, M. D., V. S. 
Armstrong-, William T. Smoot, J. Holt, W. H. McClung-, 
M. D,, John R. Donehoo, H. B. Gilkeson, secretary. 
Seventh board, 1888-1890: John T. Pierce, president; 
W. H. McClung-, Georg-e Baird, M. D., J. E. Peck, W. P. 
Vicars, John R. Donehoo, A. L. Pug-h, C. F. Poland, secre- 
tary. Eighth board, 1892-1894: John T. Pierce, president; 
W. S. Wiley, J. E. Peck, D. C. Casto, W. H. McClung-, M. 
D., A. L. Pug-h, J. R. Donehoo, J. J. Cornwell, secretary. 
Ninth board, 1894-1896: W. H. McClung-, president; 
W. S. Wiley, J. E. Peck, D. C. Casto, George H Johnson, 
Jesse Fisher, C. W. Brockunier, J. J. Cornwell, secretary. 
Tenth board, 1897: F. M. Reynolds, president; Dr. W. 
C. Jamison, Dr. G. A. Aschman, Dr. H. G. Stalnaker, J. 
W. Shick, C. C. Watts, Benjamin Bassell, Jr., D. A. Petti- 
grew, S. S. Buzzard, M. S. Cornwell, secretary. 

These tables are prepared from the annual and biennial 
reports of the institution. The year given as the first 
appearance of a teacher, or oiScer, is the first for which he 
is catalogued. 

"In a pamphlet history of the West Virginia Schools for 
the Deaf and Blind, Professor Hill says: "The schools 
have thus far been most liberally supported by the state. 
■ The appropriation for some years has been twenty-five 
thousand dollars per annum, for current expenses besides 
one thousand dollars annually to cover the cost of trans- 
portation of indigent pupils. In addition to this the law 
provide^ that clothing shall ba^ipplied all needy children, 
to an amount not exceeding forty dollars a } T ear and 
charged to the counties from which the} 7 come. With 
competent and skilled teachers, comfortable buildings, a 



480 



HISTORY OF" HAMPSHIRE. 



healthful climate, g'ood medical attendance and the gener- 
ous support of the state the future of the school is bright 
with promise, if only the large number within the borders 
of the commonwealth, who have not availed themselves of 
its benefits, can be brought under it ameliorating- influ- 
ence." 

33 




1. REV. PETER MILLER. 2. CLYDE P. MILLER. 

3. DR. J. M. MILLER. 4. MRS. ALBERTA C. MILLER. 



CHAPTER XIX 

«c> 

PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS, 

BY KIT MAXWELL. 

A history of Hampshire county would be lacking- in an 
important point without a record of a worthy and intelli- 
gent class of citizens whose work is q uiet and unobtrusive, 
but' who are indispensable — the physicians. It is to be re- 
gretted that the data from which to compile a history of 
the doctors of the county is so incomplete. It is impossi- 
ble to do the subject justice, because information concern- 
ing- many successful and learned men of the medical pro- 
fession is fragmentary or wholly wanting-. A record, often 
the name only, of twenty- nine physicians of Hampshire is 
all that can be obtained. There can be no doubt that one- 
half the doctors have been forgotten, This seems a cruel 
and undeserved fate; but it is a fact. Who can doubt that 
Hampshire in the one hundred and forty years of its exist- 
ence has had at least one hundred practicing physicians? 
Yet, not one-third of them are now known by name. This 
is largely due to the fact that no medical society or associ- 
ation has ever been organized in the county. Had such 
society been in existence during the century or more last 
passed, a record of its proceedings would contain a history 
of Hampshire's medical men, and this chapter could be 
made far more complete than it is. In most counties such 
•associations have been in existence many years, and every 
member is given a place upon its records. Following will 
be found sketches of a number of physicians. 

B. F. Berkeley, M. D., was born in August, 1824, and 
attended the Louisville (Kentucky) medical institute in 



482 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



1844, and for a number of years practiced his profession 
in Ohio. He was a surgeon in the union army during- the 
Civil war. He afterwards took up his residence in Rom- 
ney and continued to practice till his death, which occurred 
April 15, 1897. 

Edward Beall, M. D., was born 1836, and was for a long 
time a successful practitioner in the eastern part of Hamp- 
shire county. He organized a confederate company early 
in the war, an account of which will be found in another 
chapter of this volume. 

J. F. Gardner, M. D., was born in Frederick count}?-, 
Virginia, 1843, and was educated by a Lutheran minister. 
When eighteen years of age he volunteered in company D, 
thirty-third regiment of Virginia volunteers, and fought 
under the flag" of the Southern confederacy until the close 
of the war. He then entered the Bellevue Hospital Med- 
ical college, New York, and graduated from that institu- 
tion in 1879. In June, 1830, he located at Bloornery, in 
Hampshire county, and eight years later removed to Capon 
Bridge where he has since practiced his profession. 
When Dr. Gardner came to Hampshire county his family 
consisted of a wife and six children; and three children 
were afterwards born. Mrs. Dr. Gardner, before her 
marriage, was a Miss Clawser, a descendent of one of the 
first settlers of the valley of Virginia. Her great grand- 
mother was captured by the Indians, and was taken as far 
as the Ohio river, an account of which is given in Kerch e- 
val's history. She had a testament in her pocket, and she 
tore off bits of the leaves of the book, and when her cap- 
tors were not observing her, she scattered these fragments 
of paper along the trail. Settlers from Virginia pursued 
the Indians, being guided by the scraps of paper, and over- 
took them at the Ohio river and recaptured the prisoner. 

George H. Thomas, M. D., third son of Owen Thomas, 
a farmer living twelve miles west of Leesburg, was born 
in Loudoun count} 7 , Virginia, and received a free school 



PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS. 



education at his home. He was then sent to. the Potomac 
academy, at Alexandria, Virginia, where he prepared him- 
self for entering- the university of Virginia, in 1887. He 
finished the course in medicine at the university of New 
York where he continued his medical studies and in April, 
1891, he received the degree M. D. from that institution. 
Since then, for the purpose of more perfectly fitting- him- 
self for the responsible duties of his profession, he has 
twice taken post-graduating* courses in the New York 
university, the first in 1892 and again in 1896. He had 
previously located for the practice of medicine at Spring- 
field, Hampshire county. In July, 1893, he was married 
to Miss Margaret Washing-ton, fifth daughter of Edward 
Washington. Their daughter, Margaret, w r as born July 
4, 1894. Dr. Thomas removed from Springfield to Romney 
in May, 1894, where he has since practiced his profession. 

J. J. T. Offutt, M. D., was born August 4, 1826, died in 
# 1886. He began his course of reading while clerking in 
Chamberlain's store, which was in a part of the brick house 
at Capon Bridge, now owned by A. E. Pugh. The young 
student there had access to a good library and he made ex- 
cellent use of it. He afterwards entered the medical col- 
lege which was then at Winchester, and graduated there. 
He began the practice of medicine at Capon Bridge, and 
soon established a reputation for success. For forty years 
he lived and practiced his profession at Capon Bridge. In 
early years, when physicians were not so numerous, he 
rode over a large part of the county. During the war he 
was a union sympathizer, but never entered active service. 
Being a quiet citizen, and not disposed to intrude his opin- 
ions upon others, he continued in the peaceful practice of 
his profession during the whole war. He became post- 
master at Capon Bridge before the war, and was continued. 
*in the of&ce till 1885. 

W. T. Shipe, M. D.— The subject of this sketch was 
born in 1867, in Clarke county, Virginia, and when seven 



484 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



years of age removed with his parents to Bunker Hill, 
Berkeley county, West Virginia, where he spent the early 
years of his life on his father's farm. He entered the Balti- 
more medical college and graduated in the spring of 1894. 
In the fall of that year he commenced practicing his pro- 
fession at Spring-field, Hampshire county. In December 
of that year he was married to Miss Ella M. Pine of Darke- 
ville, Berkeley county. 

Reuben Samuel Davis, M. D., son of Reuben Davis, was 
born November 6, 1834, on New creek, then in Hampshire 
county, now Mineral. His grandfather, of Welch ancestry, 
was born April 1761. He married Rebecca Dent, the 
daughter of Thomas Dent, who resided near % Charlotte 
Hall, St. Mary's county, Maryland: The Dents came from 
Gainsborough, York county, England. Joseph Davis resid- 
ed in Fauquier county, Virginia, from 1790 to 1799, and 
then removed to New creek, Hampshire county, and built 
a dwelling house within one rod of the county line, at which 
place he resided till his death, which occurred September 
16, 1831. Thomas Dean, grandfather of the subject of this 
sketch, was born in 1757, and married Jane Gilmore. The 
ancestry of both came from Dublin, Ireland. He lived on 
New creek until his death, March 27, 1809. Reuben Davis 
was born September 30, 1792, in Fauquier county, Vir- 
ginia, and came to Hampshire with his father in 1799. His 
great uncle, Colonel George Dent, stood godfather at his 
baptism, and gave him a set of silver sleeve buttoms with 
his initials, "R. D.," engraved on each, which are now in 
possession of Dr. Davis, who retains them as a souvenir of 
the past century. Colonel Dent married Eleanor Dean, 
daughter of Thomas Dean, April 1, 1813. In the war of 
1812 he served as ensign in Captain Cockerell's company 
at Norfolk, Virginia. He served many years as a magis~ # 
trate by appointment, and was next to the last one to hold 
the office of sheriff of Hampshire county, on the priority 
of his commission, previous to the adoption of the consti- 



PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS. 485 

tution of 1850. He resided at Piedmont from 1860 to his 
death, November 17, 1368. Dr. Davis enlisted in Captain 
George F. Sheetz's company at Romney, June 6, 1861. The 
company was mustered into service about July 20, 1861. as 
company F, seventh regiment of Virginia cavalry, Colonel 
Turner Ashby's regiment, and become a part of Ashby's 
brigade, and was commanded by General Rosser at the 
close of the war, and was included in General Lee's surren- 
der at Appomattox. Dr. Davis commenced the study of 
medicine in May, 1856, under Dr. W. H. Dew of West Mil- 
ford, Harrison county, West Virginia, and continued the 
study until he volunteered in the confederate army, in June, 
1861. He resumed his study in 1865, and .commenced 
practice in 1868. His residence is at Kirby, Hampshire 
county. 

Robert Newman, M. D. A sketch of the life of Dr. 
Newman will be found in this book in the chapter on the 
literary workers of Hampshire, and in the present chapter 
only such mention of him as refers especially to his labors 
as a physician will be given. He occupied a place of honor 
and confidence in Hampshire county, as well as in the ad- 
jacent portions of Maryland, which would be a credit to 
any professional man. He was an original investigator. 
His ideas did not follow beaten tracks, but struck boldly 
into unexplored regions. As elsewhere remarked, if he 
could have had the advantage of a university education, by 
which he would have been enabled to concentrate his tal- 
ents upon unexplored fields rather than waste them in 
going- over ground already traveled by others, he would 
probably have acquired a national reputation. But the 
time and place in which his lot was cast were not suited to 
acquiring- knowledg-e from books. He fought on the fron- 
tiers, explored wildernesses beyond the Mississippi, en- 
countered dang-ers, surmounted obstacles, triumphed over 
difficulties, and in spite of them all accomplished much as 
an investigator in the profession of medicine. His book 



486 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



on the treatment of dropsy, which he published while at 
Old Town in Mar y land, embodied his own original ideas 
and investigations on the subject. He could claim what- 
ever of merit there was in it; for it was his work, his idea, 
liis experience. It would not be difficult for a well-read 
physician to compile a book on nearly an}* branch of his 
profession, by appropriating the ideas and investigations 
of others. But Dr. Newman did not do this. He acted 
upon the injunction: 

"Think for thyself. One good idea, 
But known to be thine own, 
Is better than a thousand gleaned 
From fields by others sown." 

Br. Newman was never a man of vigorous health. He 
always believed himself predisposed to consumption; but, 
■as often happens, the man with questionable health out- 
lives those who seem to be physically perfect. Dr. New- 
man had reached the age of fifty when he made Romney 
bis home, removing to that place from Old Town, in 1820. 
His acquaintance with the people of the South branch 
dated several years earlier; for he had often been called, 
professionally, to attend the sick, even as far south as 
Moorefield. When he took up his residence in Romney he 
at once entered upon a large practice, and was particularly 
successful in treating cases in which the seat of the trouble 
was in the lungs. He was a resident of Romney until his 
death, which occurred in 1843, in his seventy-seventh 
year. 

Dr. Newman's ideas regarding religion have alread}- 
been mentioned; but he had a peculiarity which was all 
the more noticeable because of his scepticism, and which 
led some to doubt his sincerity in his claims of being un- 
orthodox. Although he might have considered scepticism 
-good enough during life, he evidently believed religion was 
better when the hour of death came. Whenever he real- 
zed that a patient of his could not recover, and that death 



PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS. 



487 



was near, lie would request Rev. Dr. Foote to pay the pa- 
tient a ministerial visit. He and Dr. Foote were lifelong- 
friends, and so uniform was his custom of sending- the 
reverend gentleman to administer to the spiritual wants of 
those about to die, that the neighbors learned to under- 
stand what it meant when Dr. Foote would call upon one 
of Dr. Newman's patients. It meant that the sick person 
had been given up to die: 

Although half a century has passed since Dr. Newman 
ceased his labors among- the people of Hampshire, yet the 
influence of his life and work has enlarged and increased 
to this day. 

Joseph M. Miller, M. D., of Romney, is of German ex- 
traction, both on the side of his mother and father; but 
the families were in America, probably before the Revo- 
lutionary war; at least at a very early date. His father, 
Rev. Peter Miller, descended from an old established fam- 
ily of Rocking-ham county, Virginia. The grandfather of 
the subject of this sketch, Joseph Miller, was born in 
Rocking-ham county, and there is no written record of the 
family further back. Rev. Peter Miller was born in 1828, 
and was married to Miss Margaret Lutz, of Rocking-ham 
county, whose father, George Lutz, was a native of Penn- 
sylvania. Dr. J. M. Miller was born in 1853, in the old 
horn 2 county, Rockingham. When he was five years old 
his father's ministerial labors called him to Wardensville, 
in Hardy county, and he there resided many years in the 
work of the church. 

The early life of Dr. Miller was spent at Wardensville 
where he attended such schools as the district afforded, 
and during- vacations did farm work. The vacation took 
up the greater part of the year, and as a consequence, he 
had more opportunity to become acquainted with plows, 
pitchforks, horses and cattle, than with books. Neverthe- 
less, he had ambitions which looked forward to better 
things. The drudgery of farm life gives little time for 



488 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



books, and he embraced the first opportunity of taking- up 
something- else. He clerked in the store of M. Coif man at 
Woodstock, Virginia, during- portions of 1873 and 1874^ 
But having- made up his mind to pursue one of the learned 
professions, and having- chosen medicine, he looked about 
for means of acquiring- an education fitting- him for his 
work. He entered thegraded schoolat Woodstock, and made- 
excellent progress under the instruction of Professor 
Lindsay. An opportunity presenting- itself, he entered 
the office of Dr. W. H. Triplett, at Woodstock. Dr. 
Triplett was a successful physician, and had a larg°e prac- 
tice. The three years which Dr. Miller spent in the office 
were of the greatest value to him in fitting him for his f uture 
work. So well was he instructed, not only in theory of 
medicine, but in its practice also, that he opened an office 
of his own and carried on a successful practice for two 
years without having* attended any medical college. But 
not being- satisfied with anything- less than thorough in- 
struction and training in his chosen profession, he entered 
the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, and. 
graduated in the spring of 1877. 

Soon after this he located at Rio, on North river, in 
Hampshire county, and was soon in the enjoyment of a 
remunerative practice, He remained at that place till 1889 
when he removed to Somney and has since lived there. 
On January 3, 1S7S, Dr. Miller was married to Miss 
Alberta C. Coif man, of Hampshire county, daughter of 
John C. Coftman who was born in Shenandoah count}', 
1805, and who was married to Miss Mary Thompson, of 
Hampshire county. Two sons were born to Dr. and Mrs. 
Miller, John Luther, 1880, who died at the age of five 
months, and Clyde Peter, born in 1882. Mrs. Miller died 
October 19, 1895. 

Samuel R. Lupton, M. D., was born near Winchester, 
Virginia, March 21, 1827. His ancestors were Quakers 
and belong-ed to that group of persecuted persons who 



PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS. 



489 



were imprisoned in Winchester during- the Revolutionary 
war. Many of these were carried thither from Philadel- 
phia, and the accusation against them was that they were 
friendly with the British and were furnishing- information 
to the enemy. It is certain that this charge, if made 
ag-ainst the Quakers as a body, was not well founded, 
although individual cases no doubt occurred in which per- 
sons of that denomination were friendly with the British. 
The persecution of the Quakers formed one of the unpleas- 
ant pag-es in the history of America during- the revolution. 
Yet, in time of war, and particularly when the enemy 
was ravag-ing the land, as was the cs.se when the British 
occupied Philadelphia, the most careful and just people 
may do that which at other times they would strongly 
condemn. Many of the Quakers who were imprisoned at 
Winchester were no doubt earnest sympathizers with the 
American cause. From that stock Dr. Lupton descended. 
Nothing- eventful has been recorded of his early life, and 
while still a very young man he entered the Winchester 
medical college, and he graduated in June, 1848. 

He began the practice of his profession in Pennsylvania, 
and remained eight years in that state. He then returned 
to Virg-inia and commenced practice in Romney. This 
was in 1856, and he brought with him a recommendation 
from Dr. H. II. McGuire of Winchester. He was soon in 
possession of a large practice and retained it till the end of 
his life, a period of more than twenty years. From the 
founding of the institution for the deaf and blind in Rom- 
ney until his death, Dr. Lupton was its physician, with the 
exception of a brief interval. He was a regent of the insti- 
tution, and for a brief period was its principal. In the lat- 
ter part of his life he suffered from heart trouble, and 
knew that his end was not far off; yet, while in the grasp 
of death, he never neglected a patient, never let others suf- 
fer when he could help them; he would cheerfully answer 
calls day and night, in rain or sunshine, forgetful of his 



490 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



own suffering- while trying to relieve the suffering- of oth- 
ers; and at last he fell dead while in the act of reaching- to 
a shelf for a bottle of medicine for a patient who had called 
at his office. Dr. Lupton was buried in Indian Mound 
cemetery, but his grave is unmarked, and the stranger 
who seeks it is liable to search in vain. Yet he was one 
who was not dependent upon sculptured marble as a guar- 
dian of his fame. He had built a more enduring monu- 
ment. He had secured the respect, the confidence and the 
love of the people among whom he labored. Man's most 
everlasting monuments are not erected in the cities of the 
dead, but in the hearts of the living. 

J. M. Snyder, M. D., was born at Clear Spring, Missouri, 
May 23, 1818, and was a son of Jacob and Margaret Snyder, 
of German origin. He was married September 22, 1841, 
to Miss Savinia Rizer, a native of Maryland. Their chil- 
dren were Anna M., Kate L., Robert D., Eettie S. and 
John. Mrs. Snyder having died, Dr. Snyder, on Septem- 
ber 2, 1S73, was married to Miss Virginia Boyd Kidd, 
daughter of James and Hester Kidd, in the Presbyterian 
church at Romney, hy Rev. George W. Finley. The death 
of Dr. Snyder occurred October 19, 1S77. He began the 
study of medicine when he was twenty-one years of age, 
and graduated from the university of Maryland. He then 
entered the office of the distinguished Dr. Samuel Smith, 
at Cumberland, Maryland, and read an extensive course of 
medicine. From the office of Dr. Smith he went to Rom- 
ney and practiced medicine with Dr. McClintock, whom he 
subsequently bought out, practice, house and all. Dr. 
Snyder enjoyed the reputation of being an excellent 
surgeon. 

Edward K. Wilson, M. D., son of James M. and Annie 
E. Yv T iison. nee Robinson, was born at Darkeville, Berkeley 
county, West Virginia. He belongs to a very old family 
in Virginia. His paternal grandfather, Samuel K. Wilson, 
was born May 19, 1788, in Virginia, and was the eldest son 



PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS. 



491 



of William Wilson. Samuel Wilson was a merchant at 
Gerardsville, and his son, the father of the subject of this 
sketch, was a farmer and afterwards a drug-gist. He is 
now a resident of Mineral county. Dr. Wilson was edu- 
cated at North Mountain institute, in Berkeley county, 
taking- the degree' of A. M. in 1873. He then studied med- 
icine under Dr. Samuel D. Marshall of Philadelphia, and 
afterwards graduated at Jefferson medical college, that 
-city, 1877. He spent six years in Moorefield in the prac- 
tice of his profession, then went to Kansas City, Missouri, 
where he lived several years, returning thence to Romney, 
where he has since been engaged in practice. 

A complete list of the physicians who have made their 
homes in Hampshire county from the earliest times till the 
present cannot now be made out. The few names herein 
given have been gathered from various sources. The old 
court records contain the names of a few, but give no in- 
formation concerning their births, deaths or family his- 
tory. As far back as 1788 Dr. Unger was spoken of as "a 
reputable surgeon," in connection with a salaried position 
as surgeon of the Hampshire militia. Dr. Dyer was one 
of the early physicians. Dr. McDonald and Dr. Temple 
spent many years in the county, and both were reputed to 
be excellent doctors; but like many others, few facts con- 
cerning them can now be ascertained. Dr. Washington 
Williams lived in Romney in 1831. He was a brother of 
Dr. M. Williams of Moorefield. Dr. McClintock was one 
of the leading physicians of the county prior to 1842, He 
left Hampshire that year. Dr. Pratt was here about the 
same time. Dr. Kendall is well remembered by many 
people of the county. He died a few years ago at Pleasant 
Dale, but had not been in active practice for several years 
prior to his death. Dr. Townsencl Clayton died at Spring- 
field about thirty years ago. Dr. John W. Moore was also 
a resident of Springfield, as was Dr. Reuben Moore. Dr. 
Lemuel Moore practiced at Frankfort, now in Mineral 



492 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



county. Dr. Trask was a successful physician residing- 
in Romney, but he subsequently went to Mineral county. 
Dr. John Taylor died in Romney about ten years ago. Dr. 
A. B. Hayden was for a. longtime a successful physician of 
Hampshire. He was in the county as early as 1838, and in 
1874 removed from North river to the state of Texas. Dr. 
Lyons, a native of New York, was at Pleasant Dale a few 
years, and moved away. Dr. John Monroe, a great uncle 
of Colonel Alexander Monroe, lived on North river about 
the beginning- of the present century. He removed to 
Capon and died there. Pie was a Baptist preacher as well 
as doctor, Dr. F. P. Canneld's name is found as one of 
the successful physicians of Hampshire. It is said that 
there were two Dr. Snyders in Hampshire, one dying- half 
a century ag-o. 



CHAPTER XLIL 

«o» 

BAR OF ROMNEY, 

BY HU MAXWELL. 

The bar of Hampshire is the oldest in West Virginia. 
For almost a century and a half advocates have expounded 
the law in the courts of justice of the county. They have 
he en men of ability, as a rule; and while in years of service 
they surpass all other bars of the state, in ability and 
learning- they suffer in comparison with none. Attorneys 
who held their commissions under the crown of England 
pleaded causes in Hampshire almost a quarter of a cen- 
tury before the Revolutionary war. After the achieve- 
ment of independence, the practice of law in Rornney 
flourished under Virginia's first constitution for fifty 
years; then under the second constitution twenty years; 
and under the third ten years. West Virginia then took 
the place of the mother state and gave a constitution and a 
code of laws, following it later with a second. Under all 
of these the legal profession in Hampshire was recognized 
as in the front rank. Lawyers who began their work at 
that bar have risen to fame; and lawyers who have won 
laurels elsewhere have honored the old county's bar by 
giving it the benefit of their wisdom and long experience. 
Although the court is the oldest in the state, it cannot be 
claimed for it that it has had more litigation than the court 
of any other county of West Virginia. The people have 
been peaceful, and comparatively few of them have been 
brought into court for punishment. Land titles, often a 
source of long and expensive litigation, have never been 
much questioned or disturbed in Hampshire, probably 



494 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



because the first settlers were chiefly men of business who 
took pains to clear the titles to their lands very early in the 
county's history; by this means being- able to bequeath 
their property to their children, unincumbered and clear 
of dispute. A person who will examine this county's 
court records, and compare them with the records of some 
of the other counties of the state, will be impressed with 
Hampshire's favorable showing - . Suits at law to clear 
titles to real estate have been few. 

The purpose of this chapter is not to give a history of 
the courts of this county, for that has been done else- 
where in this book, but to present a list of prominent 
attorneys who have practiced at the Romney bar, in order 
that future generations may have information concerning 
an important profession and its members. Extended 
notice of each lawyer has not been attempted. The biog- 
raphies of many of them will be found elsewhere in this 
volume. Four members of the Kercheval family practiced 
at the Hampshire bar, Samuel, Robert C, Andrew W. and 
John B. William Naylor was well known in his day, and 
was a successful advocate early in the present century. 
Angus W. McDonald, sr., and Ang-us W. McDonald, jr., 
were known in the leg-al profession before they became 
noted as military men during- the civil war. William B. 
Street and Y/illiam Perry are names often met with in the 
court records. Thomas C. Green, as a lawyer, has been 
an honor to Hampshire. His father, John W. Green, was 
on the bench of the court of appeals of Virginia in 1822. 
Thomas C. Green was a son-in-law of Colonel Angus 
McDonald, and commenced the practice of law T in Jefferson 
county. He was in the confederate army, and while in the 
field was elected to the Virginia legislature and served two 
terms. Governor Jacob, of Rornney, appointed him a 
judge of the supreme court of appeals of West Virginia, 
and he was subsequently, twice elected to the same 
position. William C. Clayton, another lawyer which West 



BAR OF ROMNEY. 



495 



Virginia takes pride in accrediting- to Hampshire county, 
was born in 1831. He was a pupil in Dr. Foote's school at 
Romney, and was there prepared for the Virginia univer- 
sity which he entered m 1846 and remained three years. 
He was subsequently principal of Washing-ton academy at 
Charlestown, Jefferson county. He commenced the prac- 
tice of law in Romney in 1859, and in 1873 removed to 
Keyser. He was a member of the West Virginia senate 
1875 and 1877. Alfred P. White, Robert White, John B. 
White and C. S. White were all active and influential mem- 
bers of the bar of the county. Judg-e James D. Armstrong-, 
both at the bar and on the bench, won the confidence and 
the esteem of the people, not only of his county, but of the 
neighboring- counties and of West Virginia. 

R. W. Varder, Robert N. Harper and Powell Conrad are 
names well remembered as members of the bar. Alexan- 
der Monroe, a man whose ability has attracted attention in 
both peace and war, was enjoying a lucrative practice in 
Hampshire before many of the lawyers of today were born. 
He was born in 1817, and read law with Alfred P. White of 
Romney, and was admitted to the bar at the age of forty- 
one. He was a member of the Virginia legislature of 1849; 
again in 1862 to 1865; a member of the constitutional con- 
vention of West Virginia, 1872; a member of the legisla- 
ture of Hampshire, 1875, and was elected speaker; also in 
the legislature 1879, 1881, 1882. John J. Jacob, the first 
democratic governor of West Virginia, was a partner of 
Colonel Robert White in the practice of law in Romney. 
A full account of Governor Jacob's public services is given 
in another chapter. He practiced law in Romney about 
six years, from 1865 to 1871. George A. Tucker, F. M. 
Reynolds, William M. Welch, won their way into promi- 
nence as members of the Hampshire bar. Robert W. 
Dailey, born and reared in Romney, early gave evidence 
that he was destined to achieve success beyond that of a 
successful practitioner at the bar. The people of this 



496 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



county were not slow in appreciating- his worth, and when 
the opportunity to recognize his ability in a substantial 
way presented itself, they did it by electing- him judge of 
the circuit court. Not only did Hampshire* his native 
county, confer this honor upon him, but he was given a 
handsome majority by the twelfth judical circuit, com- 
posed of Hampshire, Hardy, Grant, Pendleton and Min- 
eral counties. C. Wood Dailey, brother of Judg-e Dailey, 
beg-an his career as a lawyer in Romney, afterwards re- 
moving- to Keyser, and subsequently to Randolph county. 

Samuel Ligiitfoot Flournoy, now of Charleston, West 
Virginia, studied his profession in Romney, and began 
practicing* in 1873, when twenty-seven years of ag-e. His 
life had been a busy one, and having spent part of it in the 
confederate army when a youth, he did not have an oppor- 
tunity to acquire the classical education which he was de- 
termined to have, until after the war closed. He gradu- 
ated from Hampden Sydney college with honors, and then 
took up the sfudy of law. He is given additional mention 
in this book. Henry B. Gilkeson, by his example, has 
show that industry, hard work, and close application to 
business are the surest and safest roads to success. Hav- 
ing served the people, first as a school teacher, then as 
county superintendent of Hampshire, he took up the study 
of law, and has the good fortune to acquire a substantial 
reputation, not only in his county but in the state at large. 
Robert W. Monroe, brotner of Alexander Monroe began 
the practice of law in Romney, but he has extended his 
practice to other fields. He was appointed by President 
Cleveland Indian agent in Idaho, and removed to that ter- 
ritory. But becoming tired of the place he returned to 
Romney, and subsequently made his home in Preston 
county. William B. Cornwell studied law in the West 
Virginia university, and after practicing his profession a 
short time, was elected prosecuting attorney of Hamp- 
shire. John J. Cornwell, brother of the forgoing, is a 




1. JUDGE R. W. DAILEY. 
2. J. S. ZIMMERMAN. 3. H. B. GILKESON. 

4. WILLIAM B. CORNWELL. 5. JOHN J. CORNWELL. 



BAR OF EOMNEY. 



497 



member of the bar. dividing- his time between his profes- 
sion and editing- his newspaper. J. S. Zimmerman, a 
young- man, has made a success at the bar of Hampshire, 
and A. J. Welton's name, although the last to be mentioned 
on the roll of resident attorneys, should not be classed as 
of the least importance. 

A number of lawyers of note have practiced at the Rom- 
ney bar who have never resided in the county, and it is due 
them and the Hampshire bar that mention be made of 
them. The list contains names well known throughout 
the state. James M. Mason, Robert Y. Conrad, Philip 
Williams, David W. Barton, Charles J. Faulkner, sr., James 
W. Green, J. Randolph Tucker, William Seymour, Andrew 
Hunter, J. V/. F. Allen, Richard E. Byrd, General Thomas 
McKaig-, L. T. Moore, Richard Parker, Josiah H. Gordon, 
Holmes Conrad, A. Hunter Boyd, A. R. Pendleton, Joseph 
Sprigg, Edmund P. Dandridg-e, Benjamin Dailey, George 
E. Price, W. R. Alexander. 

No place more appropriate than in the history of the 
Hampshire county bar can be found for the mention of a 
lawyer of profound learning- and national reputation, who 
was born in Rornncy about 1830, but who left the county 
early in life to achieve fame elsewhere. Creed Haymond, 
son of William Calder Haymond, was a native of this 
county. While yet young-, he removed with his parents 
to Fairmont, in Marion county, where he resided several 
years. When gold was discovered in California he was 
among the first upon the scene. Having cast his lot on the 
Pacific coast, he took up the study of law, and rose to the 
head of his profession. He yielded first place to none, 
even when matched with the best lawyers of the west, such 
as General Barnes, Deuprey, Del mas and Foote. He was 
for years attorne} 7 for the Southern Pacific railroad. He 
was president of the commission which codified the laws 
of California and produced a work seldom equalled and 
never surpassed. He was attorney for several of Califor- 
nia's millionaires, and he drew up the papers for the found- 
ing of Stanford university. He died in 1894. 



CHAPTER XLIIL 



»o« 

LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 

BY HU MAXWELL. 

This chapter, which deals with the physical features of 
Hampshire, will present a study of the county's hills and 
valleys, rivers and smaller streams, soils and products, the 
rocks which appear on the surface, and what is beneath 
the surface, so far as known, together with a few easily- 
understood facts of the county's geology and mineralogy. 

Altitudes above the Sea. — While Hampshire 
county is hilly or mountainous, it yet has no mountains 
equalling in height and ruggedness those of some of the 
counties west, particularly Grant, Pendleton, Pocahontas, 
Greenbrier, Webster and Randolph. The most elevated 
point in Hampshire count} 7- is 3,100 feet above the ses. The 
lowest point is the bed of Capon river where it flows across 
the line from Hampshire into Morgan 510 feet. The count}', 
therefore, has a vertical range of 2,590 feet. Every point in 
Hampshire lies somewhere between these two extremes. 
The average elevation is probably not far from 1,200 feet. 
It is a prominent feature of the mountains of this county 
that they have few peaks which rise sharply above the sur- 
rounding- ranges. This is because the mountains of 
Hampshire county are very old, geologically considered, 
and peaks which may once have existed have been worn 
down till they now rise little above the ridges, and appear 
as broad, rounded domes. In the present chapter the alti- 
tudes of the most prominent points in this county will be 
given. This will include the elevation above the sea of the 
hills and mountains; of the beds of the rivers at different 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 499 



points; and of the towns and postohices. These calcula- 
tions have been carefully made and are believed to be cor- 
rect in every particular, as nearly as can be shown by a 
barometer. This chapter will also give the distances and 
directions from Romney of all the important points in 
Hampshire county, and of several places in adjoining- coun- 
ties. These distances have all been calculated from lati- 
tude and longitude, and thus are what are known as "air 
lines." That is, they are the shortest lines between the 
two points, and take no account of roads, nor of irregulari- 
ties of the land surface. They are always shorter than 
any road can be constructed between the two points, be- 
cause a road is alwa} r s, in this county, more or less crooked, 
and therefore longer than an "air line." This difference 
often amounts to considerable. Sometimes the road is 
nearly twi ce as long- as the direct line between the two points. 

The elevation of some of the mountains and hills of 
Hampshire are shown in the following list: South branch 
mountain, one mile east of the head spring of Trout run, 
3,100 feet; South branch mountain at the Ham psb ire-Hardy 
line, 3,000; High knob, near the head of Big run, 2,900; 
Capon mountain, two miles south of the Hampshire-Mor- 
gan line, 2,900; Short mountain, four miles west of Delray, 
2,800; Capon mountain, at the Hampshire-Morgan line, 
2,700; Hig-h knob, in Mill creek mountain, at the Hamp- 
shire-Hardy line, 2,600; Great North mountain, three miles 
southeast of Lafolletsville, 2,600; Great North mountain, 
two miles southeast of Capon springs, 2,500; the ridge on 
which is the common corner of Hampshire, Hardy and 
Mineral counties, 2,300; the mountain three miles east of 
Delray, 2,300; the mountain two miles northeast of Sedan, 
2,200; Mill creek mountain, across the river opposite Rom- 
ney, 2,000; Sandy ridge, the highest point of which lies 
west of the road leading* from Forks of Capon to Cold 
stream, 1,800; the hill south of Romney one-fourth mile, 
1,100. 



500 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



In the following- list will be found the altitude of the beds 
of streams at various points in their courses in Hampshire 
county: Capon at the Hampshire-Morgan line, 510 feet; 
North river at its mouth, 580; Little Capon at the Hamp- 
shire-Morgan line, 600; the Potomac at the Hampshire- 
Morgan line, 625; South branch at the mouth of Town run 
below Romney, 700; Capon, two miles above Cold stream, 
700; South branch at Moorefield, 800; Mill creek, two miles 
above Moorefield junction, 800; Mill creek at Pargatsville, 
900; Little Capon, where the road from Higginsville to 
Frenchburg crosses, 1,000; North river, two miles above 
Sedan, 1,000; Tearcoat, where the Northwestern pike 
crosses, 1,025; Capon, at the Hampshire-Hardy line, 1,040; 
North river at the Hampshire-Hardy line, 1,100; Grassy 
run at the Hampshire-Hardy line, 1,500. 

The list which follows will show the altitude of towns, 
places and postofhces in Hampshire county: Forks of Ca- 
pon, 600 feet; Cold Stream, 700; Higginsville, 700: North 
River Mills, 775; Glebe, 780; Springfield, 800; Moorefield 
Junction, 800; Capon Bridge, 800; Pargatsville, 900; Rom- 
ney, 900; Sedan, 980; Yellow Spring, 980; Hanging Rocks, 
near North river, 1,000; Delray, 1,050; Frenchburg, 1,050; 
Pleasant Dale, 1,100; Mutton run, 1,100; Bloomery, south- 
east of the Forks of Capon, 1,100; Adams Mill, 1,150; Mill 
Brook, 1,200; Lafolletsville, 1,200; Lehew, 1,275; Slanes- 
ville, 1,300; Augusta, 1,300; Capon Springs, 1,400; Bloom- 
ery, northeast of the Forks of Capon, 2,500. 

Distances from Romney. — The following list 
shows the distance in an u air line" from Romney .o the 
several points named; and it also shows the direction of 
each from Romney. The directions are expressed in the 
general terms of "east," "southeast," "east of southeast," 
etc., and are not given in degrees. They are accurate 
enough for all practical purposes, although not strictly 
correct in all cases. From Romney to Springfield, north 
of northeast, 8 miles; to Greenspring run, north of north- 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 501 

east, 13}^ miles; to Hig-ginsville, northeast, 11 miles; to 
Slanesville, east of northeast, 13 miles; to French burg-, 
east of southeast, 6 miles; to Auguista, east of southeast, 
7 miles; to Pleasant Dale, east of southeast, 10 miles; 
North .River Mills, east, 13*4 miles; Hanging Rack, east of 
southeast, 12}4 miles; Adams Mill, southeast, 6 miles; 
Ruckman, southeast, 1 l / 2 miles; Delray, southeast, 13 
miles; Mutton Run, southeast, 17 miles; Sedan, southeast, 
l2 J / 2 miles; Mill Brook, southeast, 15 miles; Yellow Spring", 
southeast, 16*^ miles; Glebe, south of southwest, 8 miles; 
Ruckman, southeast, 7% miles; , the Mineral county line, 
west, 4 miles; Moorefield junction, southwest, 5 miles; 
Parg-atsville, southwest, 17 miles; Burlington (Mineral 
county), west 8 miles; Ridge ville, (Mineral county), west. 
12 miles; Heads ville (Mineral county), northwest, 6^ 
miles; Keyser (Mineral county), west of northwest, 13 
miles; Old Fields (Hardy county), south of southwest, 15 
miles; Hampshire-Hardy line crossing- the South branch, 
south of southwest, 12 miles; Moorefield (Hardy county), 
south of southwest, 22 miles; Wardensville (Hardy county), 
south of southeast, 20 miles; common corner of Hampshire 
and Frederick counties, southeast, 21 }4 miles; common 
corner of Hampshire, Morg-an and Frederick counties, 
east of _ northeast, 24 miles; the Virginia line, east 21^2 
miles; Bloomery, east of northeast, 21^ miles; Cold 
Stream, east, 17^ miles; Capon Bridg-e, east of southeast, 
17J/2 miles; Capon Spring's, southeast, 19 miles; Lafollets- 
yille, southeast, 19)4 miles; Lehew, southeast, 19 miles; 
Winchester (Frederick county), east of southeast, 33 
miles; G-errardstown (Berkeley county), east, 35) 2 miles; 
Darkesville, (Berkeley county), 39 miles; the Virginia 
state line at the nearest point, east of southeast, 18 miles. 

The Soils of Hampshire— The soil of a country 
is usually understood to be the covering- of the solid rock. 
It is very thin in comparison with the thickness of the sub- 
jacent rock, not often more than four or five feet, and fre- 



502 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

quently less. This is not the place for a chemical discus- 
sion of soils; but a few plain facts may be given. What is 
soil? Of what is it made? In the first place, leaving 
chemical questions out, soil is simply pulverized rock, 
mixed with vegetable humus. The rocky ledges under- 
lying- a country, become disintegrated near the surface; 
the}^ decompose; the sand and dust accumulate, washing 
into the low places, and leaving the hig-h points more or 
less bare, until a soil of sufficient depth is formed to sup- 
port vegetation. A soil in which little or no vegetable 
humus is intermixed, is poor, and it produces little growth. 
Sand alone, no matter how finely pulverized, is not capable 
of supporting vegetation, except a few peculiar species or 
varieties. This is why some of the hillsides of Hampshire 
are so nearly bare. The soil is deep enough, but is poor. 
The state of being- poor is nothing- more than a lack of 
humus, or deca}ung vegetation. Those poor hillside soils 
either never had humus in them, or it has been washed 
out. A soil tolerable fertile is sometimes made miserably 
poor by being- burned over each year when the leaves fall. 
The supply of vegetable matter which would have gone 
to furnish what the soil needed, is thus burned and de- 
stroyed; and in course of time that already in the soil is 
consumed or washed out, and instead of a fertile wood- 
land, there is a blasted, lifeless tract. Examples of this 
are too often met with in ¥v T est Virginia, and as often in 
Hampshire as elsewhere. 

Excessive tillag-e of land exhausts it, because it takes out 
the humus, and puts nothing back. It does not exhaust the 
disintegrated rock — the sand, the cla)-, the dust; but it 
takes out the vital part, the mold of veg-etation. Fertil- 
izers are used to restore the fertility of exhausted land. 
That process is misleading, in many cases. Too often the 
fertilizing material is a stimulant rather than a food to the 
land. It really adds no element of fertility, but, by a 
chemical process, compels the soil to give up all the 



♦ 

LANDSCAPES PAST AXD PRESENT. 503 

remaining- humus; and when the vegetable matter is all 
gone from the soil, all the fertilizers of that kind in the 
world would not cause the land to produce a crop. The 
intelligent farmer does not need be told this. His experi- 
ence has taught him the truth of it. No land is so com- 
pletely sterile as that which, througm excessive use of fer- 
tilizers, has been compelled to part with its vegetable mat- 
ter. Something cannot be created from nothing-. If a soil 
has no plant food in it, and a fertilizer contains no plant 
food, the mixing of the two will not produce plant life. 
The most apt illustration is that of alcohol and the human 
body. Let the body represent a soil, and alcohol the stim- 
ulant. There is no nutritive element in alcohol, yet when 
taken into the stomach it stimulates the body to gr eater 
activity for a while. It simpl} T calls up the reserve force; 
but after a time the body has no more force in reserve, 
and no amount of alcohol can stimulate to further action. 
So, the soil, as long- as it has strength in reserve, can be 
stimulated to activity; but when its reserve strength is ex- 
hausted, it cannot be further stimulated. It must have 
more food before it can do more work. 

A crop of clover, of buckwheat, of rye, or any other crop, 
plowed under, fertilizes land because it adds vegetable 
matter to the soil. Then if the soil is stubborn about 
3^ielding up its fertility, a treatment of the proper fertil- 
izing agent will compel it to do so. Bottom lands along- the 
rivers and creeks are usually more fertile than lands on 
the hills because rains leach the uplands and wash the 
decaying leaves and the humus down upon the lowlands. 
The soil along the river bottoms is often many feet deep, 
and fertile all the way down. This is because the wash- 
ings from the hills have been accummulatlng there for 
ages faster than the veg'etation which annually drew from 
it could exhaust the supply. It sometimes happens that 
the surface of a deep soil is exhausted by long cultivation; 
■and that a sub-soil plow, which goes deeper than usual, 



504 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



turns up a new fertile soil which had lain beyond the 
reach of plant roots for ages. Occasionally a flood, which 
covers bottom lands leaves a deposit of mud which is full 
of humus. This enriches the land where it lodges, but 
the mountain districts from which it was carried were 
robbed of that much fertility. 

Disintegrated rock of every kind cannot be made fertile 
b)^ the usual addition of vegetable humus. Certain chem- 
ical conditions must be complied with. Limestone gen- 
erally forms good soil because it contains elements which 
enter into plants. Strata of rock, as we now see them, 
were once beds of soil. They hardened and became stone. 
Sandstone is formed of accumulations of sand; shale is 
made from beds of clay or mud; limestone was once an 
aggregation of shells and skeletons of large and small 
living - creatures. When these rocks are broken up, disin- 
tegrated and become soils, they return to that state in 
which they were before 'they became rock. The limestone 
becomes shells and bones, bat of course pulverized, mixed 
and changed; sandstone becomes sand again; shale 
becomes mud and clay as it originally was. This gives a 
key to the cause of some soils being better than others. A 
clay bank is not easily fertilized; but a bed of black mud 
usually posseses elements on which plants can feed. So, 
if the disintegrating - shale was originally sterile clay, it 
will make a poor soil; but if it wrs originally a fertile mud, 
the resulting soil will be good. If the disintegrating sand- 
stone was once a pure quartz sand, the soil will likely be 
poor; but if it was something better, the soil will be bet- 
ter. The fertility of limestone soil is mainly due to the 
animal matter in the rock. If should always be borne in 
mind, however, that the difference of soils is dependent 
not so much upon their chemical composition as upon the 
physical arrangement of their particles. 

Plants do not feed exclusively upon the soil. As a mat- 
ter of fact, the principal part of the material which enters. 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 505 

into the construction of the stems and leaves of some 
plants is derived from the air. It is often said, but is not 
quite true, that the ash remaining- when wood is burned 
represents the portion derived from the soil, while the 
invisible portions which escape as smoke and gasses, were 
derived from the air. Some plants prosper without touch- 
ing soil. A species of Chinese lily nourishes in a bowl of 
water with a few small rocks in the bottom. On the other 
hand there are plants that will wither in a few minutes if 
taken from the ground. This shows that some plants ex- 
tract more material from the soil than other. It is a com- 
mon saying that buckwheat rapidly exhausts land, 

Some lands are more affected by drought than others, 
when both receive the same rainfall. This may be due to 
the character of the underlying rocks, although usually 
due to a different cause. If the soil is shallow, and the 
subjacent rocks lie oblique and on edge, the}' T are liable to 
carry the water away rapidly by receiving* it into their 
openings and crevices, thus draining the soil. But if the 
subjacent rocks lie horizontally, water which sinks through 
the soil is prevented from escaping, and is held as in a tub, 
and is fed gradually upward through, the soil by capilliary 
attraction. This land will remain moist a long time. But 
the more usual reason that one soil dries more rapidly than 
another, is that one is loose and the other compact. The 
compact soil dries first. The smaller the interspaces 
between the ultimate particles which make up the soil, the 
more rapidly water rises from the wet subsoil by capilliary 
attraction, and the supply is soon exhausted. The more 
compact the soil, the smaller the spaces between the par- 
ticles. In loose ground the interspaces are larger, the 
•water rises slowly or not at all, and the dampness remains 
longer beneath the surface. In the western countries 
where the summers are hot and rainless, the farmers irri- 
gate their land, thoroughly soaking it from a neighboring 
canal. If they shut the water off and leave the land alone, 



506 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

in a few days it is baked, parched, hard and as dry as a 
Done. But the farmer does not do this. As soon as the 
water is turned off, he plows and barrows the land, making" 
Ihe surface as loose as possible. The result is, the im- 
mediate top becomes dry, but a few inches below the sur- 
face the soil remains moist for weeks. The water cannot 
escape throug-h the porous surface. The same rule 
applies everywhere. If two cornfields lie side by side, 
especially in a dry season, and one is carefully tilled and 
the surface kept loose, while the other is not, the differ- 
ence in the crops will show that in one case the moisture 
in the soil was prevented from escaping- a.nd was fed to the 
corn roots, while in the other case it rose to the surface 
and was blown away by the wind, leaving- the corn to die 
of thirst. 

The BiOlllliey Shccle.- — A peculiar rock formation 
ta.kes its name from Romney, because it reaches its typical 
development in the vicinity of that town. In the United 
States Geological survey it is called "Romney Shalt." It 
rests upon the Monterey sandstone (which is seen in 
Hanging- Rocks below Romney), and is next to the lowest 
formation in the Devonian a£fe in this part of the state. 
The Romney shale extends throug-h Maryland into Penn- 
sylvania, and in the other direction is found as far as 
Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties, and is abundant in 
some portions of Grant county. It probably" extends west- 
ward beyond the Alleg-hanies, but is there buried beneath 
vast beds of more recent rock and has not been seen. 
The thickness of this shale m Maryland, north of Hamp- 
shire, is about seven hundred feet. In Grant county the 
thickness is about thirteen hundred feet, and in Hamp- 
shire it is between these extremes. A description of this 
remakable and almost worthless rock will prove of inter- 
est to the people of this county, who are already more or 
less familiar with it. It is popularly called slate, but it is 
not slate. It bears the same relation to slate that dried 



• 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 507 

clay bears to a burnt brick. Shale is indurated and partly 
pressed mud. Slate is burnt and completely pressed 
shale. If the beds of shale, as we now have them, were 
heated (from the internal heat of the earth), and, while in 
a semi-fused condition, were submitted to an enormous 
pressure and allowed slowly to cool, they would be slate, 
or schist. 

Romney shale is found along- the South branch valley, 
m the valleys of Patterson creek and New creek, in Min- 
eral county, and along- the flanks, near the bases, of the 
neigmboring- hills and mountains. It is usually black, but 
sometimes lighter colored, and in places is almost terra 
cotta. Near the base of the formation the color is darker. 
Tjie lig-hter colors are near the top. It breaks and splits 
easily; and the typical mode of fracture is in long- and 
slender pieces like slate pencils. In Romney it is used 
for sidewalks, and w T hen newly made these sidewalks have 
the appearance of masses of broken slate pencils. The 
rock is easily pulverized, and is quickly g-round to a pow- 
der so fine that the wind blows it away and the rain washes 
it off. It has been used in macadamizing- roads, but it soon 
wears out, a covering- a foot deep disappearing in a few 
years. However, when a road passes through a shale 
formatian and the roadbed is cut from the solid rock, it 
makes an excellent highway, never becoming" troublesome 
on account of rnud or dust. The most solid roads in 
Hampshire are those which pass over strata of shale. The 
finest exposure of this formation in Hampshire county is 
at the river bluff, half mile, or less, from Romney, in a 
northwestern direction. There a perpendicular cliff, in 
places more than one hundred and fifty feet high, may be 
seen. The fissile* nature of the rocks can be studied to 
advantage. The face of the precipice is shattered in mul- 
tiplied millions of fragments, in size ranging from a few 
pounds to pieces like the smallest needle. 

The manner in which these beds of shale were formed. 



508 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



ag-es ago, is clearly indicated. A former chapter in this 
book describes the method* of rock building - , such as we 
had in this part of West Virginia* It was there pointed 
out that all the rocks were formed in the bottom of the 
sea; the sandstone was made of sand; limestone of shells 
that settled to the bottom, and shale was made of mud. 
The chief difference between sandstone and shale is, that 
the former is made of coarser material — sandstone is con- 
solidated sandbars; shale is hardened mud flats. The 
Romney shale gives us a glimpse of conditions in this part 
of the world millions of years ago. The sea was then 
shallow over an area covering several counties, with Hamp- 
shire in the center. The land toward the east, from which 
the mud was washed by rivers, was low, and the rivers 
were stagnant or slugg-ish. Had their currents been mpid 
they would have carried sand into the sea, and we would 
have had sandstone instead of shale. The shores were 
swampy and low. In fact, the whole area under consider- 
ation was probabhv a vast, dismal swamp, with lagoons, 
swales, channels, currents and counter currents, caused 
by the ebbing and flowing of the tides. The mud accumu- 
lated in these semi-submerg-ed swamps to a depth of a 
thousand feet or more, and then an elevation of the neigh- 
boring land g-ave currents to the rivers, and sand came 
pouring- in and covered the mud to a depth of more than 
two thousand, feet. This sand now exists as sandstone 
and overlies the shale in every part of Hampshire where it 
has not been stripped oft by erosion. The deep beds of 
mud thus buried were pressed and hardened and became 
shale. 

Vegetation was somewhat abundant at that time, as is 
shown by the carbon in the shale, giving it its black color* 
In places the rock resembles - coal, and persons not ac- 
quinted with the geology of the section have attempted to 
open coal mines in this shale. Of course they never found 
any coal, except perhaps a thin and stony vein occasionally; 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 500 

for coal, in paying- quantities, does net exist in formations 
as old as the Romney shale. Had vegetation been as abund- 
ant at the beginning- of the Devonian as in the middle of the 
Carboniferous ag-e, it is probable that the area of the Rom- 
ney shale would have been a field of enormous coal beds. 
But the veg-etation was lacking-, and mud flats took the 
place of peat bog's, and we now have shale instead of coal. 

There is no clearly denned line in Hampshire county 
between the shale and the overlying formation — called the 
Jenning-s. The sandstone of the latter lies upon the shale, 
and occasionally a layer sandstone is included in the shale, 
or a bed of shale is found among" the strata of sandstone. 
This shows that the chang-e from the mud fiats to the sand- 
bars- — -from the swampy shores to the elevated coast line 
bordering- the ancient sea — was gradual. 

There is another paragraph in the history of the rocks 
which may be read by following the Piney mountain road 
about a mile from where it leaves the Northwestern pike. 
Halfway up Town hill, after passing- over various grades 
of sandstone, a ledge of coarse conglomerate is met with. 
It rests upon and lies beneath finer-grained sandstone. 
The conglomerate is made up of rounded, water-worn, 
white quartz pebbles, cemented in a strong- mass. The 
most careless observer will notice the difference between 
this and the neig-hboring- rocks. Conglomerate is found in 
all countries of the world, and is not confined to any age of 
rocks. All have the same general histoiw. They are 
formed of pebbles worn round in the beds of swift rivers 
or by the churning of waves on stormy coasts. That ledge 
on Town hill has its story to tell. The pebbles of which 
it is composed were probably worn and polished in the 
headwaters of the rivers which brought the mud to sea to 
form the Romney shale. But these rivers became slug- 
gish when they reached the low-coasted plain, and could 
not carry the pebbles to sea, and they there lodged for 
ages, while the upper portion of the Romney shale and the 



510 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



superincumbent sandstones were being- deposited. Then 
a change in the elevation of the land increased the strength 
of the river currents, and the gravel was carried to sea and 
was cemented into rock as we now see it. Some of the 
pebbles are an inch in diameter. They are white quartz 
and originally were derived from veins of that beautiful 
rock which were formed in early ages of the earth's history. 
These white pebbles are remnants of mountains long" ago 
ground down and which were scattered and spread over 
the bottoms of ancient oceans to form rocks for newer con- 
tinents. The mountains from which the material was de- 
rived are believed to have stood east of the present Blue 
Ridg-e. Immense areas of very hard rock, supposed to be 
the remnants and foundations of ancient mountains, are 
still to be seen in that region. 

There is another important series of rocks named from 
its abundance in this county. It is called the "Hampshire 
Formation." It lies above the Romney shale and is separ- 
ated from it by the Jennings Formation more than two 
thousand feet thick. 

Mill Creek Mountain. — The student of Hampshire 
county's geography and geology will be Well repaid by 
careful study of Mill creek mountain and its relations to 
the South - branch of the Potomac. In this chapter Mill 
creek mountain is understood to include that range which 
begins in Hardy county north of Old Fields, and extends 
parallel with the South branch, sometimes on one side of 
it and sometimes on the other, to the North branch, at. the 
Maryland line, between Green Spring station and South 
Branch station. Different portions of the mountain have 
different names in the several localities, but the govern- 
ment charts, made in 1891, from the surveys of 1883, 1884 
and 1885, give the general name, Mill creek mountain, to 
the range. The casual observer might suppose that the 
range is properly divided into several mountains. That 
which gives it the appearance of district mountains is the 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 511 

fact that it has been cut through again and again from side 
to side, and in one instance cut down from summit to base 
leng-thwise for seven miles — split open as it were — by the 
South branch. It therefore becomes a profitable subject 
for stud} 7 . Instances are rare in this state, and rare in 
any part of the world, in which the relative ages of a moun- 
tain and a river can be so clearly seen, and for which the 
proof is so manifest. The proof is conclusive that the 
South branch was flowing along nearly its present course 
before Mill creek mountain had an existence. 

The method by which rivers cut through mountains has 
been discussed somewhat at length in a former chapter of 
this book. The discussion will not be repeated here. It 
was formerly held by geologists that w 7 here a river has cut 
a gap through a mountain it first was stopped in its course 
by the sudden upheaval of the mountain across its channel, 
and formed a lake by the backwater which rose higher and 
higher until it found an outlet through the lowest g-ap in 
the obstruction, and then burst through with tremendous 
force, tearing the rocks out and cutting a passage through 
the mountain to its base, and draining the lake in a short 
time, perhaps in so short a time that the whole w r ork par- 
took of the nature of an explosion, bursting- through the 
rocks and hurling them before the rushing waters from 
the pent-up lake. This view r of the case is now known to 
be erroneous. The process was not one of violence. There 
were no lakes, except in rare cases. Had it been possible 
for a man to ka.ve lived so long-, and had he stood at Rang- 
ing Rocks below Romney and w T atched the whole operation 
of the river cutting its channel through the mountain at 
that place, he probably would never have witnessed any- 
•more violence than can be seen at present. The work is 
perhaps going on today in the same manner as in past ages. 
The river was flowing" before there w T as a mountain across 
its path. The mountain was formed by the upheaval of 
rocks from below the -surface. Vast beds of limestone, 



512 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

sandstone and shale, which once lay flat, were folded by 
stupendous pressure, and the folded part rose above the 
surface as a vast arch. This arch, is it now exists, forms 
the mountain. It can thus be understood how the gaps 
were cut through it by the river. The mountain rose out 
of the earth so slowly that as it appeared above the general 
surface of the country and across the channel of the river, 
the stream kept its old channel, cutting and wearing the 
rocks away as they rose higher and higher. 

The most northern gap through this mountain, in Hamp- 
shire county, is that made by the North branch, between 
Greenspring and South branch station. The main line of 
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad passes through it, along 
the bank of the North branch. It will be presently shown 
that, had this mountain been older than the river the mouth 
of the South branch would be at Greenspring instead of 
where it is. If the mountain had been there first, the only 
method by which the river could have gotten through it 
would have been by backing up, forming a lake, until the 
water poured over the top of the mountain. Take the case 
of the lower Hanging Rocks, where the wire bridge use to 
be, and see what the result would have been, had the 
South branch attempted to back up before the gap existed, 
forming a lake till it overflowed the mountain where the 
gap now is. The general height of the mountain in that 
vicinity is now from eleven hundred to fourteen hundredfeet 
above sea level. The bed of the South branch at that 
point is now about seven hundred feet above sea level — a 
few feet less, perhaps. Thus, the river would impound 
its waters and form a lake four hundred feet deep before 
finding escape over the mountain to commence cutting the 
gap. But, before the waters had risen in that lake to a 
depth of two hundred and fifty feet it would have flowed 
through the low gap at the head of Greenspring run and 
would have emptied itself down the present valle}^ of Green- 
spring into the North branch, and it would not have cut 

35 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 



513 



"the gap at the wire bridge at all. This is conclusive proof 
that the gap was cut slowly, as the mountain rose out of 
the earth. 

If further proof is wanted, take the case of the upper 
Hanging Rocks, four miles below Romney, and the same 
argument will lead to a similar conclusion. The South 
branch, for fifteen miles above Hanging Rocks, flows along 
the eastern base of Mill creek mountain, and at Hanging: 
Rocks breaks through to the west side. If the mountain 
had been there first it would have been necessary that a 
lake form from the pent-up water till it overflowed the 
mountain at that plaice. The mountain is twelve hundred 
feet above sea level, or five hundred above the bed of the 
river. A lake must have formed five hundred feet deep to 
overflow the mountain toward the west. But, before the 
water had risen three hundred feet it would have passed 
out through the low gap, on the east side of the mountain, 
between the upper and lower Hanging Rocks. That gap 
is less than eight hundred feet above sea level, and the 
river would have made its channel there and would not 
have cut through the mountain, which is more than two 
hundred feet higher. Water always flows throug-h the 
lowest gaps. This proof is conclusive that, had the South 
branch, when it first started on its course to the sea, found 
Mill -creek mountain across its path at upper Hanging 
Rock, it would have continued down the east side of the 
mountain, and the gaps at both the upper and lower rocks 
would not have been made. 

Mill creek gap, or Mechanicsburg gap, is another case 
to the point. This passage through the mountain was not 
made by the South branch, but by Mill creek, just before 
it empties into the river. Mill creek is a comparatively 
small stream, and the amount of labor it has performed, in 
sawing a passage for its water through that lofty moun- 
tain, is almost incredible. A river like the South branch 
may be expected to do great things; but so much work 



514 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



seems out of the question with so small a stream as Mill 
creek. Yet, by working- steadily through countless ages 
it has sawed a gap throug-h the mountain from top to bot- 
tom. This stream is also older than the mountain. Its 
entire course, except the lower two miles, lies west of that 
range. It drains a basin of about sixty square miles, and 
empties throug-h a pass cut to a depth of not less than 
twelve hundred feet. It is a much deeper g-ap than any of 
the three made by the South branch and the North branch 
below that place. The mountain on both sides of the pass 
is nearly two thousand feet above sea level, and the bottom 
of the pass is less than eig-ht hundred, showing- a perpen- 
dicular cut of twelve hundred feet. Had it been necessary 
for Mill creek to form a lake until it overflowed the moun- 
tain, before the cutting- process beg-an, the lake would have 
been more than a thousand feet deep. If no water had 
been permitted to escape, except by evaporation, the rain 
and snow of a thousand years would not have sufficed to 
accumulate water to that h eig-ht. It would have been im- 
possible for a lake to form at that place to a depth of a 
thousand feet; because before it had reached one-third of 
that depth it would have found two passages for escape, 
one through the low gap above Pargatsville into the South 
branch near Old Fields, and the other through the low g-ap 
toward the north, at the head of Dumpling run, a small 
stream which empties into the South branch about five 
miles below Romney, near the residence of Franklin Her- 
riott. The divide between Dumpling run and the water of 
Mill creek is only nine hundred and seventy feet above the 
sea, and the divide between the water of Mill creek and 
Mud lick, near the Hardy county line, is eleven hundred 
feet above sea level. The mountain through which Mill 
creek made its outlet is two thousand feet; so it can be 
seen that the water, if sufficiently accumulated, would have 
passed through either gap long before it would have over- 
flowed the mountain. Where rivers once fix their courses, 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 



515 



there they usually keep them, not suffering- themselves to 
be turned aside by mountains thrust across their paths. 

Th2 cases already cited are those in which streams have 
cut across mountains, making- a way through from one 
side to the other: Mill creek gap, the passes at the upper 
and the lower Hang-ing Rocks, and that between Green 
spring and South branch station. A remarkable and 
peculiar case of mountain cutting remains to be described. 
It is the Troug-h. There the river did not cut across the 
mountain, from one side to the other, but made a passage 
through it from end to end. It may be compared to a cir- 
cular saw, cutting- a log lengthwise. The narrow, trough- 
like gap made by the river is about seven miles long-, 
partly in Hardy county and partly in Hampshire. The 
process by which the passag-e was made, was without 
doubt similar to that already described in the excavation 
of the other passes through the same range. The river 
was flowing- upon its course before there was a mountain. 
When the folding- rocks began to rise from the earth, the 
axis, or anticline, of the fold was directly beneath, and 
parallel with the river which beg-an the work by cutting- a 
trough along the backbone of the embryonic mountain. As 
the elevation of the range became greater, the river cut 
deeper, until at the present day the g-org-e is hundreds of 
feet deep, and the South branch flows in a narrow channel 
at the bottom, with nearly perpendicular walls of rock on 
either side. 

It. seems almost superfluous to examine ag-ain for proof 
that if the mountain had been their first, the river would 
have soug-ht and found a channel very different from the 
one it now follows. It is out of the question that a stream 
would flow over a mountain, along- its summit lengthwise 
when it could have found an outlet hundreds of feet lower 
on either side. Had the South branch, when it first started 
out upon its course, found itself confronted by the end of 
Mill creek mountain, below Old Fields, it would have 



516 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



formed a lake, until the empounded waters escaped 
through the lowest gap. That gap would probably have 
been found near Pargatsville, although the gap on the east 
side of the river, through which the road from Romney to 
Moorefield passes, is on nearly the same level. Both gaps 
are about eleven hundred feet above the sea, or three hun- 
dred above the bed of the river at Moorefield. Had a lake 
been formed there, it would have found drainage down 
Mill creek before it attained a depth above three hundred 
feet. The mountain through which the Trough extends 
was split from end to end. Half the mountain is now east 
of the river, half west. But the larger half (if an expres- 
sion so unmathematical may be allowed,) is west of the 
Trough. At least, it is the kig-her portion. It rises above 
the bed of the river to a heigmt of nineteen hundred feet, 
culminating in High Knob, on the Hampshire-Hardy line. 
The portion to the east of the river rises nine hundred 
feet above the bed of the stream. There the two portions 
of the mountain stand facing each other, with a yawning 
chasm between them. The appearance is, that some ter- 
rific convulsion of nature had burst the mountain from end 
to end, and that the river, finding a channel thus ready 
made, adopted it. But convulsions of nature, especially in 
that region, have never burst mountains in such a way. 
The chasm was made by flowing water, through ages un- 
numbered; yet, the evidence does not contradict the 
theory that the work may have been facilitated by the rup- 
ture of the top of the strata under the immense strain as 
they were folded and thrust upward. 

Without dwelling more at length on this subject, the 
conclusion may be thus presented: When the South branch 
first commenced flowing', near the close of the Carbonifer- 
ous age, if it had found Mill creek mountain in its path at 
the south end of the Trough, the course of the river 
would have been very different from what it is now. It 
would have been as follows: Passing through Old Fields 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 517 

It would have made a channel through the low gap near 
Pargatsville, thence down Mill creek valley, through the 
gap at the head of Dumpling run, down that brook, follow- 
ing the present course of the river from upper to lower 
Hanging Rocks, thence through the low gap above Spring- 
field, and down Green spring run to the North branch of 
the Potomac. The fact that the river did not take that 
course is proof that it already had its course before the 
mountain came into existence, and the mountain could not 
deflect or obstruct it. 

There is no doubt that the whole face of the country has 
been much worn down since the upheaval of Mill creek 
mountain, and the topography was different in early times 
from what it is now. The divides near Pargatsville, at 
the head of Dumpling run, and at the head of Greeiispring- 
run, were probably not so low as now; but the mountain 
was also higher once than it is now, and the logic of the 
argument is not changed. 

The Romiiey Terrace— -The village of Romney 

stands on a river terrace, the average of which is about 
-one hundred and fifty feet above the South branch. It was 
known as Pearsall's Flat before the town had an existence 
probably because a man of that name lived there at a very 
early time. Pearsall's fort, which was built under the 
personal supervision of Washington, did not stand on the 
terrace where Romney stands, but on a smaller and lower 
terrace one half mile further south, nearly opposite the 
present bridge across the South branch. These two ter- 
races demand more than a passing mention when consid- 
ered from the standpoint of geography and geology- The 
upper one, where the town stands, is the older of the two; 
that is, it was made first. They were both carved by the 
South branch. Each was in its turn a portion of the bed 
of that river. This may seem unreasonable, if considered 
in relation with the present land features; bat geology 
takes into account ages almost unnumbered, and in that 



518 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



immense time great results are accomplished. River ter- 
races, far above the present channels of the streams, are 
found in many parts of the world, and are studied with 
interest and profit. They give us hints of former land- 
scapes. The gravel and bowlders, now buried under soil, 
tell us what manner of rocks were brought down by the 
ancient floods, and whether they were different then from 
those now carried down by the same streams. 

There was a time when the valley which now lies be- 
tween Romney and the mountain on the other side of the 
river had not been scooped out. A plain level with Indian 
Mound cemetery then extended to the mountain west of 
the South branch — the bottom of that valley being- about 
one hundred and seventy-five feet above the level of the 
present valley. It was no doubt a wide and beautiful plain 
but the evidence which remains is not sufficient to fix its 
exact boundaries or dimensions; nor to justify a conclusion 
as to its vegetable or animal life, except within certain 
wide limits. The ancient floor of that whole valley has 
been worn down and washed away, except one little frag- 
ment. This fragment is the terrace now occupied by 
Romney. The river has cut far below the ancient level; 
but the fragment of the old bottom remains to show where 
the river once flowed. 

What is the evidence of this? The position, slope and 
general appearance of the terrace suggest its origin; but 
the direct and positive proof that the river once flowed 
there, is found in the beds of rounded bowlders cov- 
ering the whole terrace. These bowlders are exactly 
like those found in the present bed of the river. Their 
rounded and polished surfaces show that they were rolled 
a long distance. They are typical water-worn bowlders, 
and cannot have any other origin. They rest upon the 
solid bedrock, and they are covered with several feet of 
soil. The solid rock was first cut out by the river. Next 
the bowlders accummulated. Then the river cut a deeper 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 519 



channel and left the beds of bowlders to be covered by- 
soil. Any person who will follow the edge of the terrace, 
beginning- at the ravine south of the cemetery, and passing 
northward for a mile, will find beds and layers of river 
bowlders exposed in many places, usually where the soil 
has been removed or cut through by small ravines and 
gullies. Near the top of the grade where the North- 
western pike ascends the hill at the cemetery, the layer of 
bowlders is exposed, resting- upon the shale. 

On the south side of the ravine at the same point, and 
all the way to its head, where it ha^ cut back in the ter- 
race, the bowlders are exposed to view. The covering- of 
soil at that place is thin. A person would not need dig- 
deep, anywhere in that vicinity, to find river bowlders and 
gravel. In many parts of Romney wells and cisterns have 
been dug- throug-h beds of bowlders. In one place a well 
passed nearly fifty feet throug-h soil, gravel and bowlders 
before the bedrock was reached. From the cemetery 
northward, along- the bluff for a mile, bowlders are found 
in layers between the soil and bed rock. In many places 
they have rolled down and have covered the face of the 
bluff from top to bottom. There are a few places, how- 
ever, where bowlders are not found in large quantities; 
and some of the wells and cisterns in Romney reached bed- 
rock without encountering* many. This exception to the 
rule is not difficult of explanation. At the present day the 
river deposits gravel and bowlders more bountifully in 
some portions of the bottom-lands than in others. It did 
likewise in ancient time. 

The Romney terrace is not horizontal. It slopes from 
its highest part, near the cemetery, northward about one 
mile, reaching a much lower level. It seems to have orig- 
"inally been a series of terraces, one above the other, de- 
scending like steps in the direction of the flow of the river. 
But the erosion which has taken place, and the cross-cut- 
ting by ravines and gullies, have obliterated the dividing 



520 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



lines between the different planes, if such ever existed,, 
and at present the whole terrace, from north to south, has 
a general and uniform slope, much cut by gullies and 
ravines, but still appearing- from a distance as if it were 
one unbroken, oblique plane. The probable explanation 
of the obliqueness of the terrace — its slope toward the- 
north — is that the higher portion, where Romney stands, 
is oldest.* The river having- cut out that part — a platform 
in the side of the mountain — sank to a lower level, leaving 
the platform dry, and cutting- another a little further down 
stream and a little lower; thus continuing- one after another 
until the whole series was done. Since then the South 
branch has continued to lower its bed, cutting- deeper and 
deeper into the bedrock, until it is found today almost two 
hundred feet below where it flowed when it cut the highest 
part of the Romney terrace. 

An examination of the bowlders which cover the terrace 
shows that the were, in most cases, broug-ht from a great, 
distance. They were all carried to their present resting 
place by the South branch; and a comparison with the for- 
mations up the river warrants the conclusion that many of 
the bowlders came from the present limits of Pendleton 
county. The swift current of the river transported them, 
rolling- them along- the bottom until they found lodgment 
where they are today. 

How long ago? The question cannot be answered. The 
time has been sufficient for the river to cut down through 
bedrock from the level of the cemetery to the present river- 
bed, and to widen the valley from hill to hill. The stream 
is probably still cutting deeper, and is certainly widening 
the valley. The evidence of this is open to every one who 
will inspect the almost perpendicular bluff north of the 
cemetery, where the river is undermining the terrace, and 
where the cliff of shale is constantly crumbling down. The 
stream is eating* its way across the terrace. It is cutting- 
away the base, and the top falls down. By that process- 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 521 

the valley is being- widened. If the South branch continues 
to encroach upon the crumbling- cliff, the time will come 
when the whole terrace on which Romney stands will be 
undermined and washed away. The work is rapid. The 
shale which forms the bluff is soft, and oilers comparatively 
little resistance. That is, it perhaps is carried away 
twenty times as rapidly as would be possible with the 
sandstone and chert-lentel of the Hanging- Rock:-;, four 
miles below. As the cliff crumbles down, now and then a 
bowlder is loosened from the gravelly subsoil on the brow 
of the precipice and falls to the bed of the river, nearly two 
hundred feet below. One cycle of that bowlder's history 
closes, It was originally torn from its native ledge, per- 
haps in Pendleton. It was then an angular rock. In the 
course of a few centuries it was rolled by the river, had its 
corners rounded, and found lodgment in the old channel of 
Romney terrace. There it was covered with soil; forests 
grew above it; ages passed; the river cut a deeper channel, 
undermined it, and it feil, to be rolled again, onward to- 
ward the Atlantic. 

There are many fragments of river terraces along the 
South branch in more or less advanced stages of ruin. 
Some have almost disappeared; others are being under- 
mined and will ultimately be washed away. Without doubt 
many that formerly existed have been entirely destroyed 
by the ever-encroaching- and never-resting river. It is a 
work of stupendous destruction. Miles of level uplands 
have been carried away. ( It has not been done by violent 
convulsions of nature, but quietly, ceaselessly, resistlessly, 
just as the present Romney terrace is being destroyed and 
obliterated by the river, which seems eternal when com- 
pared with the crumbling rocks and mountains which it 
has carried away. 

To the east of the road leading from the bridge to Rom- 
ney lies a smaller river terrace, about one-half as high as 
the cemetery. This is more clearly defined and is more 



322 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 



nearly level than the larger one. It is not so old as the up- 
per terrace, having been formed at a later period in the 
river's history. 

The Levels. — In the northeastern part of Hampshire 
county is a region of fifteen or more square miles known 
as the Levels. It is a plateau, bounded on the north by the 
Potomac, on the east by Little Capon, on the west by the 
South branch, and on the south by the gradually rising- 
ridges which skirt Jersey mountain. The average eleva- 
tion of the Levels is about one thousand feet above the sea, 
a little more in places, and in others a little less. Viewed 
from the standpoint of geology and geography, the district 
appears to be an old base-level of erosion. That is, it was 
once worn down until it was little higher than the beds of 
the three rivers which then, as now, washed its three sides. 
It was then the bottom lands, with some slight irregulari- 
ties, lying in the quadrilateral formed by the three rivers 
and the higher region of Jersey mountain. Long-continued 
rest at one altitude and never-ceasing erosion had worn 
down all the irregularities and made the district level. 
Without doubt the chief cause for the uniform surface over 
the area was the soft rock formation which underlies it. 
The rock is red shale, and it has comparativelv little power 
to resist the action of the elements, rain, frost and wind; 
and consequently all wore down at a uniform rate and 
reached the same plane; while the harder rocks of the 
mountains beyond its borders resisted more successful^ 
the wear and tear, and remained at greater altitudes, with 
more irregular outlines. 

After the Levels had worn dowm nearly or quite to the 
plane of the rivers, there was an elevation of the land. 
The whole region rose together and became much higher 
than it was. The beds of the rivers of course rose with 
the land. But they continued to cut deeper, and have now 
reached a depth nearly or quite five hundred feet below 
the plateau. The bluff from the border of this upland 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 523 

plain, down to the present channels of the three rivers is, in 
many places, very steep, and in a few places quite precip- 
itous. Since the elevation took place, the erosive forces 
have been busy with the plateau. It has been cut with 
ravines all round the borders where the rainfall on the 
plateau flows over the brink of the bordering- bluff to reach 
the rivers below. These ravines are deeper and steeper 
where they descend the bluff; gradually becoming- 
shallower and wider as they are followed toward their 
sources near the center of the upland plain. The re- 
sult is, the Levels have the g-eneral appearance of a rolling- 
prairie, the water courses being- wide, shallow troughs, and 
the intervening- ridg-es low, with graceful outlines and reg- 
ular curves. One may here observe the first stages in the 
process by which plateaus are gradually cut to pieces and 
destroyed by flowing water. The work has but lately be- 
gun, when compared with the much more ancient results 
of erosion in the county. Future ages will see the Levels 
very different from what they are now. The ravines 
which have already cut deep into the bordering bluffs, will, 
as the ages glide away, cut deeper and work their way fur- 
ther back toward the center of the plateau, until the whole 
region will become a network of deep canons and steep 
hills, and ultimately, but very gradually, the face of the 
country will change and will wear away, becoming a hilly 
district instead of a nearly level upland. 

The result will be brought about by the irresistible but 
inconceivably slow process which, in the unmeasured past, 
have chiseled continents, worn away mountains, widened 
valleys, and changed ag-ain and again the face of the whole 
world. No man knows how long will be the time required 
to cut away that five-hundred foot plateau and bring it 
'down to the level of the present bed of the Potomac. The 
best geologist will not risk an estimate in years. But that 
the ages to come will be sufficiently long to accomplish that 
result admits of no doubt. The past eras have been long 



524 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



enough to accomplish greater results in the same places 
for the unerring and indubitable records of geology, 
written in the rocks, soils and sands about us, show that 
from the top of that same plateau, the Levels, there have 
already been stripped no less than seven thousand feet of 
rock, which once were piled stratum on stratum, and if 
now replaced would reach to the clouds. That stupendous 
work of destruction has been accomplished since the close 
of the Carboniferous age, one of the recent eras of geology. 
Why Hampshire Has JVo Coal- — All theories 

and the deductions from all experience teach that Hamp- 
shire county has no coal in commercial quantities. For a 
century, from time to time, explorations have been made,, 
and in some instances money has been spent in digging, 
and always with the result that prospects fail to material- 
ize. To the observer who is guided solely by local appear- 
ances, there are places which promise to yield coal; but a 
knowledge of the conditions under which coal is always 
found, and outside of which conditions it is never found,, 
makes it plain that this valuable product of the earth is not 
to be expected in Hampshire county. A brief explanation 
of what these conditions are will be given, after stating 
that coal is to be looked for only in rocks of the Carbonif- 
erous age. It is not found in paying quantities in older 
formations; and good coal is seldom or never found in 
newer formations. 

Geologists segregate the rocks on the earth into great 
groups, called ages, the rocks of each ag*e having some- 
thing in common— usually fossils — to distinguish them. 
The oldest rocks lie deepest, the next oldest on top of 
them, thus ascending, layer on layer, until the highest and 
newest are reached. The clastic rocks — those in layers 
and which can be taken to pieces without breaking them — - 
begin with the Algonkian age, the oldest. On these lie 
the rocks of the Cambrian age, next to the oldest. Third 
comes the Silurian age; then the Devonian age; and next is 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 525 



the Carboniferous age. There are later ages, but none of 
them ever had any representative rocks in this part of 
West Virginia, and it is not necessary to consider them, 
the oldest two ag*es — the Alg-onkian and Cambrian — are 
buried so deeply in this part of West Virginia that they 
have never been seen. Therefore, the only ages now rep- 
resented in Hampshire are the Silurian and the Devonian. 
The Carboniferous rocks once were represented here. 
The rocks of each of these ages have a great thickness. 
It cannot be stated exactly how thick they are in Hamp- 
shire. They vary in thickness in different parts of the 
country. But partial measurements and estimates based 
on measurements elsewhere, indicate that the rocks of the 
Silurian ag-e are thirty-five hundred feet thick, underlying- 
Hampshire. More complete measurements show that the 
rocks of the Devonian ag-e, resting- upon the Silurian, are 
no less than sixty-six hundred feet thick. 

If this is not plain already, it may be further explained 
that the rocks were formed on the sea bottom, layer upon 
layer, spread out flat. When these layers were piled up 
until their aggregate was thirty-five hundred feet thick, 
that completed the Silurian age. Then other rocks, layer 
on layer, were deposited on top of the Silurian rocks, and 
these newer strata reached a thickness of sixty-six hun- 
dred feet. That closed the Devonian age. But in all the 
rocks thus far formed there was no coal. Then came the 
Carboniferous age. Layers of rocks, ag-gregating- thous- 
ands of feet in thickness, were deposited on top of the De- 
vonian. At intervals, and in certain localities, beds of coal 
were formed among the layers of the Carboniferous rocks. 
The material of which the coal was formed was always de- 
' posited on top, and then was covered by a new stratum of 
rock. It is believed that the positions and the sequence of 
formation of the rocks are now sufficiently plain to render 
easily understood the reason why Hampshire has no coal. 
It is simply because there are no rocks of the Carbonifer- 



526 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



ous age in the county. The formations all belong- to the 
Silurian and Devonian ages, and they have no coal. They 
never had any and never will have any. In the first part 
of this book is a chapter dealing- with West Virginia's geol- 
ogy, and the reader who cares to do so, may refer to that 
for additional facts and conclusions. 

Did Hampshire ever have coal? There is no positive 
evidence that it ever had any, but the probability is that it 
once had as much coal as the counties lying west. The 
reason why it now has none is because the rocks of the 
Carboniferous age, which once rested upon the Devonian, 
and if now restored would extend across the county far 
above the tops of the present mountains, have all been 
stripped off and washed away. They once formed the 
surface of the ground here; but the vast number of years 
since then has been sufficient to wear away the last pebble 
of the once enormous strata. The veins of coal which 
probably were sandwiched in among the rocks, have all 
been ground to pieces, broken up and washed into the At- 
lantic ocean. The South branch, Capon, North river, and 
all the tributary streams were the agents by which this 
pulverized rock was carried away. These rivers have been 
at work for millions of years carrying back to the sea the 
sand and pebbles worn and broken from the mountains of 
Hampshire. They are at work now the same as then. 
They are the mills of the gods; they grind slowly, but 
they grind exceeding line. 

The work of denudation which has been done, even in 
the small space of Hampshire county, appalls the imagina- 
tion. It seems impossible. Yet our reason compels us to 
believe it. Climb to the summit of some lofty eminence, 
as the writer of this has done — that conspicuous dome six 
miles southeast of Romney, rising with grandeur twenty- 
four hundred feet, fertile and cultivated to the very top. 
From that lofty watch-tower, an a clear day, read the open 
book of geology and it will teach a useful lesson. The 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 527 



whole county lies below, and the eye can reach the rolling' 
hills and sequestered valleys of four states. Far off to- 
ward the west stretch the Alleghanies, which seem eternal; 
farther away in the east the regular and unbroken summit 
of the Blue Ridge meets the sky which bends above the 
valley of Virginia. Toward the north the mountains of 
Maryland and Pennsvlvania are crowded together in beau- 
tiful confusion. In the south, mountains are piled on moun- 
tains as far as the eye can reach. But it is not the study 
of distant objects which now claims attention, but of the 
landscape near at hand, all cut and scarred, furrowed and 
trenched, until the original form of the land can scarcely 
be restored, even in fancy. Yet there was a time when 
not one of those valleys had an existence* not one of those 
rocks, hills or cliffs had ever seen the light of day. Every 
object on which the eye now rests was buried thousands 
of feet beneath the vast beds of the Carboniferous rocks 
which then rested upon the,m. The only feature of that 
ancient land which would now seem familiar, if we could 
see it, were the rivers. They were flowing- then. They 
were cutting- channels and valleys in the Carboniferous 
formations. They were carrying- the spoil to the sea. The 
sand was being- worn from the surface of the ground, and 
age after age the surface of the country changed. The 
streams cut deeper; the valleys widened; the hills became 
rounded in form. The merciless hand of erosion was laid 
heavily upon the land. The larger rivers finally cut en- 
tirely through the Carboniferous rocks and reached the 
upper layers of the Devonian. Then all the streams cut 
through the Carboniferous formations and the intervening 
hills were worn down and washed out to sea as sand, and 
at length the last vestige of Carboniferous rock had been 
stripped off and was gone. Hampshire's coal went too. 
The Carboniferous rocks were worn further and further 
back toward the Alleghanies, until today the edges of those 
vast strata may be seen sticking out of the side of that 



528 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



range, reminding- one of a remnant of ice adhering to the 
bank after that which once crossed the entire stream has 
been broken up and washed away. 

The work of erosion and denudation is going- on now as 
rapidly as ever. The Carboniferous formations are gone; 
the Devonian rocks are going. The vastness of the work 
of destruction may be viewed from the summit of the 
mountain. On ever}' side, in every direction, lie valleys, 
ravines and gorges. Each of them is the trench cut by 
some stream. The South branch, which lies in full view 
from one end of the county to the other, has cut entirely 
through the sixty-six hundred feet of Devonian strata, and 
is now attacking the upper layer of the subjacent Silurian. 
Beyond Mill creek mountain the wide, irregular valleys of 
Mill creek and Patterson creek show the work of erosion 
there. The rounding hills and intervening vales between 
the Mill creek mountain and Knobby, ten miles further 
west, are witnesses to the work of destruction, the grind- 
ing down of all the sharp angles of the hills, the scooping 
out of the valleys, the havoc of frost and rain, of flood and 
wind, throughout the unnumbered centuries of the past. 
It is the same in every direction. Trout run, a mere brook, 
with its source near the Hardy county line, lies in full view 
from head to mouth. It flows as straight as an arrow 
from its source, northward several miles, between two 
mountains, one of which is the highest in Hampshire 
county, thirty-one hundred feet. Then it turns to the 
west and reaches the South branch. That small stream 
has scooped out a ravine more than one thousand feet deep, 
several miles long, and two miles wide across the top, from 
summit to summit of the mountains between which it flows. 
This ravine lies entirely in Devonian rocks; but before the 
brook began the work which is now visible, it first cut 
through and carried away the thousands of feet of Carbon- 
iferous rocks which lay above the Devonian. The same 
maf be said of the other ravines and valleys to the east and 

. 36 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 529 



south, and of Grassy Lick and Tearcoat in particular. 
Fully one-half, perhaps much more than one-half, of the 
Devonian rocks which once covered Hampshire has already 
been stripped off. The time will come when these rocks 

i will all disappear, as has been the case with the Carbonif- 
erous rocks which once rested upon them. Then the forces 
of erosion will commence upon the Silurian formations, and 
when the Silurian has been stripped off, the same forces 
will attack the still lower Cambrian; then the underlying" 
Algonkian; and finally, when that shall have shared the 
same fate, the attack will be made upon the lowest of all, 

i the Archaean rocks, which have no bottom that has ever 
been reached, but are supposed to extend so deeply that 
their lower portions rest upon the fused or plastic interior 
of the earth. 

The belief is common among- some people, in Hampshire 
as elsewhere, that coal may be found "by going- deep 
enough." This is a false doctrine. In some parts of the 
world coal is reached by deep shafts, but that is because 
the Carboniferous rocks lie beneath the surface. In Hamp- 
shire the Carboniferous rocks and their coal veins, if they 
still existed, would be found overhead, somewhere near 
the present clouds. It is, therefore, plain that the deeper 
into the earth one goes in Hampshire the further he is from 
coal. He is' digging away from it rather than toward it. 

The statement has been made, and no doubt truthfully, 
that coal has actually been found in Hampshire county. 
In the first part of this article it will be remembered that 
the writer always qualified his assertion that no coal ex- 
ists m rocks older than the Carboniferous, by saying that 
it does not exist in "commercial quantities," or "paying 
quantities." Why this qualifying term was used will now 
i be explained. Small and worthless seams and streaks of 
coal are frequently found in rocks older than the Carbon- 
iferous; and it is not uncommon to find beds of what is 
called "carbonaceous shale," which occasionally will burn 



530 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



in an imperfect manner. But all efforts to develop such 
deposits and make them valuable, result in failure, because 
they are either too limited in extent or too poor in quality. 
Coal, as is well known, is formed of vegetation. Vast quan- 
tities were required to make thick and good veins. The 
climate and other conditions of the earth were not suited 
to luxuriant vegetation until the Carboniferous age. When 
that age came, coal was formed, usually in vast swamps 
near the sea level, where the accumulation of trees, leaves 
and plants of many kinds formed beds of great thickness. 
But before that time there had been comparatively little 
vegetation, and there could be only thin seams of coal. 
Carbonaceous shale was made of a mixture of mud and ac- 
cumulated vegetation. If there was only a small amount 
of vegetable matter present, the shale is probably black in 
color, but with little other resemblance to coal. If vegeta- 
ble matter was more abundant, the shale may now contain 
enough of it to burn imperfectly. But, in any case, these 
deposits are nearly or quite valueless. They excite but 
never satisfy the hopes of the prospector. 

If a capping of Carboniferous rocks should be found on 
some mountain of Hampshire, there might be a vein of 
coal discovered in it. But it is unlikely that such a cap- 
ping will be found, and if found it will be exceedingly 
small. It would be only a limited patch of such rock not 
yet entirely worn away; and the places to look for such 
are on the tops of the highest mountains. But the writer 
has made a tolerably thorough examination of the moun- 
tains of the county, and has been unable to discover one 
pebble that can be assigned to the Carboniferous age. 
The strata in places are much folded and broken, and the 
intelligent observer will examine the troughs of protected 
synclines as well as the tops of anticlines for remnants of 
coal-bearing rocks. But the probability is that the search 
will be forever in vain in the future as it has been in vain in 
the past. 



LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT. 531 



Lest there be a misapprehension, it is proper to state 
that the presence of rocks of the Carboniferous age is by- 
no means a proof of the presence of coal. There are places 
where these rocks lie undisturbed, and yet they may be 
bored through from top to bottom without encountering 
veins of coal worth working-. Coal was not formed every- 
where over the earth's surface during- the Carboniferous 
ag-e. Some portions were too deep under water; in others 
perhaps the conditions were not favorable to the growth of 
rank veg-etation. In most cases the important beds of coal 
are believed to have been formed on low coastal plains, 
similar to the Dismal swamp in Virg-inia. Deep water and 
hig-h and dry land were not favorable to the accumulation 
of veg-etable remains in vast quantities. 

Starting- from the summit of the Alleg-hanies, west of 
Romney, and traveling- eastward to the Chesapeake bay, it 
is found that the surface rocks become older the further 
east, with local and slight exceptions. Rocks of the Car-' 
boniferous age are never met with after leaving the Allegha- 
nies. First, the Devonian is the prevailing formation. 
Further east, in the valley of Virginia, the principal rock 
is the Silurian. Further east the Cambrian, Algonkian 
and the Archaean are encountered. It is like going down, 
stairs, beginning with the highest and newest, the Carbon- 
iferous, on the Alleg-hanies, and stepping first down to the 
Devonian in Hampshire, then to the still older Silurian in 
the valley of Virginia, and descending to yet older and 
older formations until the Chesapeake bay is reached. 
The deduction from this fact is this: These enormous 
platforms, or formations, or ages, or by whatever term we 
designate them, are wearing back toward the Alleghanies. 
The Devonian once extended further east than at present. 
It overlapped the underlying Silurian further toward the 
east than now. Its eastern edge is wearing off, thus un- 
covering more and more of the older rocks beneath. The 
same may be said of the rocks of the Carboniferous age. 



532 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



They once extended further east, overlapping- the subja- 
cent Devonian strata. But they have been wearing- away 
until the eastern edg-e has retreated and uncovered wide 
areas of Devonian rocks which they once covered. This 
much can be affirmed with certainty; but when we en- 
deavor to be more specific, and to state just how far east 
the Devonian once overlapped the Silurian, and how far 
east the Carboniferous overlapped the Devonian, we are 
brought to a halt. It is not probable that Devonian rocks 
ever existed east of the Blue Ridg-e. It is believed that the 
reg-ion east of that mountain was land at the time the De- 
vonian rocks were being- formed in the bottom of the sea 
which then covered the Alleg-hanies. In fact, the sand and 
mud of which our rocks were formed were washed into the 
sea from land east of the Blue Ridg-e. What is said of the' 
Devonian rocks is equally true of the Carboniferous. They 
once extended out across Hampshire toward the east; but 
what this eastern limit was cannot now be definitely 
determined. 



CHAPTER XLIV, 



»0€ 

INDUSTRIAL AFFAIRS, 

BY H. L. SWISHER. 

The manufacture of iron was among- the first industries 
carried on in this county. Working- in this metal eng-ag-ed 
the attention of the people of this state and Virginia for 
many years until richer ores, discovered on the shores of 
Lake Michig-an, displaced our own and the furnaces in this 
section then fell into ruins. At the present time little atten- 
tion isg-iven to manufactures of any kind within this county's 
limits, the energies of the people being- devoted almost 
exclusively to agriculture. Brief notice will be taken of 
some of the industries that have had a more or less per- 
manent foothold in the county. 

Hampshire Furnace. — When the Baptist church 

at Three Churches was torn down a few years ag-o some 
one was curious enoug-h to examine the old stove to see 
where it was made. It bore the mark of The Hampshire 
Furnace Company. This company's employes, who delved 
in the most useful metal, are long- since dead but they have 
left monuments in the useful work of their hands which 
serve to call them to mind. Early in this century or late 
in the last century Edward McCarty built the Hampshire 
furnace on Middle ridg-e, about twelve miles south of Rom- 
ney. The forg-e for the furnace was near Keyser. The 
business carried on by this furnace must have been quite 
extensive. In the circuit clerk's office at Romney there 
are several ponderous ledgers filled with accounts of busi- 
ness transactions of the company. These account books 
cover the years 1816-1817, which g-oes to show that at that 



534 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



time the establishment was nourishing*. The time came, 
however, when too fierce competition compelled the Hamp- 
shire furnace to close down and now its former site is 
marked only by a few ruins. 

Blo omery Furnace.— The ruins of this furnace 
tog-ether with the houses in which the employes lived, are 
yet to be seen and are in a fair state of preservation. The 
land on which the furnace stands was formerly the prop- 
erty of a man named Naylor. The first furnace was 
built and operated about 1833 by a Mr. Pastly. A few 
years later it passed into the hands of Passmoor. He put 
a man named Cornwell in charg-e and he ran the furnace 
until 1846. Larg-e quantities of iron manufactured at this 
furnace, were transported to market over the Capon river 
©n rafts and flat boats. S. A. Pancost purchased the prop- 
erty in 1846 and operated it until 1857, when upon his 
death his heirs continued to run it in company with others 
under the firm name of Pancost and McGee. John Withers 
was superintendent for several years up to 1875. About 
this time the furnace closed down and has never been in 
operation since. The furnace and land are still the prop- 
erty of the heirs of Pancost and McGee, of Philadelphia. 

Old Mills and Woolen Factories — -Robert 
Sherrard built a stone mill at Bloomery in 1800. A woolen 
factory was built about the same time by him at Bloomery. 
Both are still in operation. ^The mill at Forks of Capon 
was built early in this century by Major John Larg-ent. It 
is still in operation. There was a merchant mill built in 
Fox's Hollow by William Fox, father of Colonel Vause 
Fox, about the year 1818. This mill had the reputation of 
making- the best flour made in the county, I Timothy 
Starkey was the first miller, Jacob Doman next and then 
Barton Smoot, who was succeeded by Mahlon Lewis. 
Larg-e quantities of flour were shipped from this mill to 
Georg-etown by boat. Boats for this purpose were built in 
a yard near where Franklin Herriott now lives. This 



INDUSTRIAL AFFAIRS. 



535 



mill is still in operation. | The Abernathy mill, one mile 
from Spring-field, now owned by Charles Milleson, was 
"built by James Abernathy during- the first quarter of the 
present century. It is still in operation. The Parker 
mill, further up the river, was built even earlier. Barnes' 
mills on Capon were built about 1813. Hammack's mills 
stood on North river about five miles above Blue's Hanging 
Rocks. ^There was a woolen factory and two flou ring- 
mills. The woolen mill is vet in operation. These mills 
were erected at a very early date. The Painter mill stood 
on North river about five miles above Hammack's mills. It 
was built more than seventy years ago. 

North River mills are among- the oldest in the county. 
The lower one owned by Robert Kid well, and formerly 
known as Snapp's mill, is still running. Other old mills 
are the Manx mill, near Rio; the Poston mill, on North, 
river, on the land of Mrs. Stuckey, and the G-inevan mill, 
near the mouth of Little Capon. 

Tanneries .— ^There is an old tany ard in Fox's Hol- 
low, not now used, which was established in 1816 by Colonel 
Vause Fox J Colonel Fox was an expert tanner, having- 
learned the trade under William Jenkins of Baltimore. 
The yard never changed hands while he lived, though it 
was leased for a short time. /Upon his death, his son, David 
Fox, took up the business and followed it until the Civil 
war. Since that time it has not been in operation. There 
was another tanyard on Dillon's run at a very early date. 
Archibald Linthicum was proprietor. Samuel Gard had a 
tannery at Capon Bridge before 1820. The work of tan- 
ning in these old yards was very tedious, but the quality 
of leather was much better than that produced by modern 
processes. 

Distilleries . — The work of making- spirituous liquors 
was at one time carried on much more extensively in 
Hampshire than it now is. ^Almost every neighborhood 
had a distillery to which the farmers could take their grain 



536 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

and have it converted into whiskey, or their fruits and get 
brandy in exchange. 

Near the present site of Spring-field there stood an old 
stone still before the beginning- of the present century. 
There was another on the land owned by James Burkett,. 
built at an early day. It was operated by Thomas Burkett. 
Near the Rouzee property, on Town hill, James Mekans 
operated a still before 1835. Besides these there were 
many others m different parts of the county, but nearly all 
have now fallen into disuse. 

Sundry Enterprises. — There was a pottery on 
North river, near the Hard} 7 line, at an early date. A very 
superior grade of ware is said to have been manufactured 
there. During- the first quarter of this century and up to 
1840 there were numerous up-and-down saw mills in the 
county. Tbe lumber turned out by them was very roug-h, 
yet it was a marked step in advance in the preparation of 
building' material. At the Tar-kiln spring-, near Ham- 
mack's mills, on North river, larg-e quantities of tar were 
formerly burned for the market. From an old advertise- 
ment we learn that J. W. NcNell had a tin, stove, copper 
and sheet-iron manufactory in Romney in 1850. 

Thus we see, while the people of this county have never 
engaged extensively in manufacture, various industries 
have nevertheless flourished from time to time. 



CHAPTER XLV. 



SOUVENIRS AND CURIOSITIES, 

* BY HTJ MAXWELL. 

In compiling- the histoiwof the county a number of inter- 
esting- objects and relics were met with which are given a 
chapter to themselves because they do not belong- any- 
where else. 

Souvenirs of Lord Fai 'r fax .—Captain C. S.White 

of Romney, has in his possession a number of valuable 
souvenirs of Lord Fairfax, among- them being- a pair of 
andirons with heavy brass heads, artistically wrought. A 
fender, also Lord Fairfax's, is in the collection. These 
are a portion of the furniture with which the great land- 
owner expected to equip his palatial residence, which he 
expected to build somewhere in the wilds of America, but 
which he never built, and perhaps never decided upon a site 
for it. The house in which he resided near White Post, 
in Clarke county, Virginia, was a small affair, and in no 
way corresponded with the line furniture which he pos- 
sessed. The larger house, called Greenway court, near 
by, w T as never occupied by Lord Fairfax in person, out by 
his steward. It is probable that the andirons saw service 
in that house. 

jlTbtiqwe Table. — Robert White was the owner of a* 
•richly inlaid table, made of different kinds of wood. Un- 
der the framework of the table he pasted a small slip of 
paper and on it wrote his name and the date, 1789. The 
table is now in the possession of his gradson, Captain C. S. 
White of Romney, and although more than a century has 
passed, the name and the date are as plain as if they had 



538 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



been there but a year. The table is kept with care, as a 
venerable relic of a former century. It is of interest to 
note that the handwriting- of Robert White has a strong- 
resemblance to that of his son, John Baker "White, and his 
grandson, C. S. White, the characteristic chirography 
descending throug-h the family more than one hundred 
years. 

An Old Sugar Bowl— A sugar bowl which came 
from Switzerland, and is believed *to have been imported 
into that country from China more than two hundred years 
ag-o, is among- the family relics in possession of Captain C. 
S. White, of Romney. While the orig-in of the old piece of 
decorated China is lost in years, the bowl is known to have 
been in the family for two centuries. The lid is missing, 
and a number of cracks have'made their appearance in the 
bowl, yet the painting-s on it are as brig-ht and perfect as 
when they were placed there by some devoted follower of 
Confucius perhaps before a white man had set foot upon 
the soil of West Virginia. 

Silver Mug from Holland—John Blue, of Rom- 
ney, possesses a solid silver mug- six inches hig*h, which 
dates back to the time when Holland's fleet claimed the 
mastery of the seas, more than three hundred years ago. 
The mug- was made in Holland, and the almost effaced carv- 
ing- upon it shows that the decorative art was by no means in 
its infancy then. The weig-ht of the relic is evidence that 
it was made for use as well as for show; and the worn and 
polished exterior is proof that it has seen use. One of Mr. 
Blue's ancestors ate his mush and milk out of it in the 
infancy of Hampshire county. He requested that the mug 
should always belong- to "John Blue," and from that time 
till the present it has always been the property of a person 
of that name. 

A Centenarian Pitcher. — A china pitcher, dating 
back more than a century, is now the property of Dr. J. 
M. Miller, of Romney. It is not known whence it origin- 



SOUVENIRS AND CURIOSITIES. 



539 



ally came nor when it was manufactured. The first 
owner for it whose name is now known was Mrs. Sperry, 
of Hardy county, who was Mrs. Miller's great grand- 
mother. It descended to Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson, of 
North river, who lived to see her ninety-sixth year. She 
was a daughter of Mrs. Sperry and the wife of Elisha 
Thompson, once a member of the Hampshire court. Its 
next owner was Mrs. Mary Coffman, daughter of Mrs. 
Thompson and mother of Mrs. Miller, who lived on North 
river. From Mrs. Coffman it descended to Mrs. Miller. 
Commodore Decatur's Salt - Cellar. —A blue 

glass salt-cellar, which was once the property of Commo- 
dore Decatur, is now in the possession of Mrs. G. L. Hern- 
don, of Romney. It belonged to the commodore's table 
set, and without doubt it was on board his ship during the 
^exciting times through which he passed. It descended to 
Mrs. Herndon who is grand niece of Commodore Decatur. 
The salt-cellar was once handsomely decorated with painted 
flowers, but they have all now faded, and the memento is 
a plain, blue glass salt-cellar. 

Famous Miniatures. — Miss Lizzie Bonney, of 
IRomney, is the owner of a locket in which are two small 
pictures, quaint and old-fashioned, but very handsome. 
The pictures were painted m the West Indies about one 
hundrd years ago, but the exact date and the name of the 
artist are not now known. The pictures are the miniatures 
of Miss Seroxa and Miss Mary Decatur, daughters of 
Commodore Decatur, the famous naval officer who ren- 
dered valuable service to his country in the early years of 
the republic. The locket with its pictures were inherited 
by Miss Bonney who is a grand niece of Commodore 
Decatur. 

Veteran Gander. — James McCool, who lives 

twenty-eight miles from Romney, in Bloomery district, 
has a gander which has lived to a surprising age, and at 
this date is hale and toug-h. Forty-five years ago Mr. 



540 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



McCool moved to the farm where he still resides, and he 
found the gander on the farm. He does not know how old 
he was then; but he has lived until the present time; and 
age has not yet dimmed the fire of his eye, nor toned down 
his warlike propensities. 

All Old Fort. — Twenty-one miles from Romney, in 
Brushy hollow, Capon district, is the ruins of an old log 
house built by a man named Kisner, as a defense against 
Indians. If contains port-holes. It w T as no doubt built 
prior to 1765, because Hampshire was never invaded by 
Indians after that year. The land now belongs to William 
Haine,s.J 

All Historic Te Jl. — Captain David Pugh of Capon 
district, is the possessor of a quill pen with which Vir- 
ginia's ordinance of secession was signed. It was never 
used afterwards, and the dried ink is still on it. 

Curious Whiskey Jug.— Mrs. M. A. Herndon of 
Romney, has a peculiar whiskey jug - which has been in the 
family for generations. It came from Massachusetts. It 
is a ring, about twenty-seven inches in circumference, as 
if a gun barrel were bent into a circle. It is hollow, and 
holds a quart. It is made of pottery, resembling porce- 
lain. It is said the jug was made to evade an early Massa- 
chusetts law which forbade selling whiskey by liquid or 
dry measure. It was supposed this would prevent selling 
whiskey altogether, but the law was evaded by selling 
liquor by the yard. A man with a circular jug, measuring 
three-fourth of a yard around, would call for three-quar- 
ters of a yard of whiskey, and the jugful just made it. 

Turner AsfoblJ S Letter. — The following letter from 
Turner Ash by has never been published. It was dated at 
Martinsburg, February 10, 1862, and is now in the posses- 
sion of Miss Lou McCarty of Romney: 

"Captain Sheetz: You will send Captain Shan's com- 
pany, or Captain Harper's, as you think best, to Lock- 
hart's, with instructions to report to General Jackson that 



SOUVENIRS AND CURIOSITIES. 



541 



they are there; at the same time, to let me know it. I want 
the reports of your three companies sent down by return 
messeng-er. I wish you to take the earliest opportunity of 
seeing- how many men of your command will re-enter. 
When any man re-enlists, you will have him mustered in; 
and, if he desires, g-ive him a furlough of not more than 
thirty days, at this time; when, upon presenting* this fur- 
lough or certificate to my quartermaster, he will pay him 
fifty dollars. These furloughs can be granted at the rate 
of one-third of the men fit for duty, but to none who do not 
re-enlist. I am having the proper papers struck oft, when 
I will send them to you. In the meantime you can get the 
law; do all you can toward reorganizing. Once a week send 
a report to me as far as Winchester, when it will be brought 
on, and state how many men have re-enlisted. 

"Respectfully, 

"Turner Ashby." 
^Stonewall Jackson' s Letter. — The following let- 
ter from Stonewall Jackson is now m possession of Miss 
Lou McCarty, of Romney. It is dated at Winchester, 
May 27, 1862: 

"R. K. Sheetz: Your letter of yesterday has been re- 
ceived. The loss of vour noble son is deeplv felt by me. 
Tears come to my e}-es when I think of his death. In 
imagination I see him before me still. You have my sym- 
pathy and prayers. In his death not only you and I, but 
also his country, has sustained a loss. Apart from his 
worth as an officer, I w T as greatly impressed with the 
beauty of his character. In regard to the horse of which 
you speak, I suppose that it is the same one that was cap- 
tured by your son with an Ohio lieutenant-colonel at Mc- 
Dowell. As your son's horse was lame, I directed the cap- 
tured horse to be turned over to him at that time. He be- 
longs to the Confederate States, and I will be obliged to 
you, if you will turn him over to Major J. A. Harman, 



542 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



chief quartermaster of this district. Accept my thankfu* 
appreciation of your kind expressions. 

"Very truly yours, 

"T. J. Jackson." 

General Lee's Letter. — The original of the follow- 
ing- letter from General Lee is in possession of Miss Mary 
Gibson, of Romney. It is dated at Richmond, April 30, 
1861, and is addressed to Major John P. Wilson: 

"Major: You will muster into the service of the state 
such volunteer companies, not to exceed ten, of infantry or 
artillery, as may offer their services in compliance with the 
call of the governor, with which you will be furnished a 
copy. Take command of them and proceed to the site of 
old Fort Powhattan, or such point in its vicinity on James 
river as will be selected for a battery by Colonel Andrew 
Talcott. Its construction will be assigned to Captain 
Cocke, with whom you are directed to cooperate in the 
completion and defense of the works. You will report the 
number of companies mustered into service, their arms 
and condition. You are requested to endeavor to give pro- 
tection to the inhabitants and encourage a feeling of se- 
curity. "Respectfully, 

"R. E. Lee." 



Hampshire's Part 

✓ , IN THE * 

Civil War, 

BY HU MAXWELL, 



CHAPTER LXVI 



BEGINNING OF THE STRIFE, 

The great Civil war, which attracted the attention of the 
"world for four years, was felt in Hampshire during- the 
whole time, The county was never free from soldiers 
from the day the ordinance of secession was passed by the 
Richmond convention until peace was restored. At that 
time Hampshire included the present territory of Mineral; 
and the federal forces were stationed at Keyaer, then called 
New Creek, and at Piedmont, early in June, 1861; and on 
the eleventh of that month General Lew Wallace, more re- 
nowned in literature than in war, led a force against and 
captured Romney. Up to that time the confederates had 
not been idle in the county. The militia had obeyed the 
call of Governor Letcher of Virginia, had been under arms, 
and were ready for battle. Companies were being organ- 
ized for service in the regular army of the Southern Con- 
federacy; for the Virginia forces had already been placed 
at the service of the confederate states. The people of 
Hampshire were mostly sympathizers with the south, and 
they expressed their sympathy by taking up arms. Half 
the men in Hampshire were in the confederate army. The 
exact number cannot now be obtained, but it can be stated 
in round numbers at twelve hundred. In the vicinity of 
New Creek and Piedmont there was a strong union senti- 
ment, and the federal army received a considerable num- 
ber of soldiers from there. 

To v/rite an accurate and full history of the war in Hamp- 
shire county is no light task. Few documents exist; there 
is almost nothing to be had on the subject, except from the 



546 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



memory of the living-. A third of a century has passed 
since the war closed, and the best memory fades with the 
lapse of years. Therefore, the greatest caution has been 
necessary in compiling- data, lest errors should creep in. 
Conflicting accounts of the same occurrence are not un- 
usual from persons who saw it. In such cases the his- 
torian must exhaust every available resource to ascertain 
the truth and reconcile the different versions, In the his- 
tory, or more properly, the chronicle, of the war in Hamp- 
shire contained in this book, the aim of the author has been 
to present facts with as much accuracy as the available 
data will permit. There are gaps in the narrative which 
perhaps can never be filled. But the knowledg-e that much 
has been preserved from oblivion is ample reward for the 
months of labor spent in collecting and arranging the ma- 
terial. In this connection it is proper to state that valuable 
assistance was rendered by old soldiers, and by others, 
whose memories were the only store houses of the facts,, 
or who possessed documents on the subject, Among such 
were Judge William H. Maloney, of McNeill's company; 
Lieutenant John Blue, of the Hampshire militia, and after- 
wards of the regular service; Captain Isaac Kuykendall, 
G. H. Houser, Lieutenant Philip Snarr, of Hardy county; 
B. F. McDonald, of Bloomery; John O. Thompson, editor 
of the Keyser Echo; V. M. Poling, circuit clerk; John O. 
Casler's book "Four years in the Stonewall Brigade;" 
Amos Robinson, of Grassy Lick; John Pancake, Colonel 
Alexander Monroe, Captain C. S. White, county clerk, and 
others. Special mention should be made of the valuable 
assistance obtained from the diaries of George W. Wash- 
ington, one of the foremost citizens of the county. These 
books, eleven manuscript volumes, were placed at the dis- 
posal of the writer by Robert Washington. That journal 
was kept with remarkable regularity every day from 1833 
to 1876; and while nearly the whole of it relates to individ- 



BEGINNING OF THE STRIFE. 



547 



ual and neighborhood affairs, yet many a date of war events 
has been fixed by a reference to that journal. 

Committee of Safety.—F^rly in the spring- of 1861 
the people of Hampshire county foresaw trouble. The 
signs of the time portended evil, and no one could tell just 
what would come to pass. The vote at Richmond on the 
ordinance of secession left no doubt that a conflict was at 
hand; and the people of Hampshire, nearly all of whom 
favored sesession, thougmt it the part of prudence to look 
out for themselves to the best of their ability. Accord- 
ing - ^, after much discussion, a meeting- of citizens was 
held in Romney, April 27, 1861, and after a long- and 
heated discussion, resolutions were passed, calling- upon 
the people to prepare for the worst; and, in order that the 
movement mig-ht have tangible results, it was decided that 
a committee of safety ought to be appointed whc«e duty it 
would be to look out for the public g-ood in any way that 
might become necessary. That far the movement had 
taken the same course as similar movements in other 
.counties of the state; but in Hampshire something- more 
was done. The county prepared for war, not only with 
men and arms, but also with money. This part of the 
proceeding was peculiar, for counties did not usually raise 
money by taxation for war purposes, but left that to the 
state or the general government. A second meeting of the 
committee of safety was held May 8, and a third on May 
13. At this meeting money was subscribed to pay troops. 
If cannot be ascertained now how much was raised, as the 
records are fragmentary; but one gentleman paid on that 
day one hundred dollars "to equip volunteers, "and five day* 
later the same gentlemen paid one hundred more for the 
same purpose. If all contributed in the same proportion 
jthe sum must have been considerable. A full list of the 
members of the committee of that date is not now obtaina- 
ble, but it is found on the court records as it existed a few 
days later. It appears that, up to that time, funds to meet 



548 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



the committee's expenses bad been subscribed by mem- 
bers of the committee, or by other citizens; but the whole 
matter was about to pass into the hands of the county 
court, as will be seen from the follovving order: 

"At a court held for the county of Hampshire, Virginia, 
May 27, 1361; present, David Gibson, Vfilliam Dunn, 
Isaiah Eupton, Robert Carmichael, J. C. Pancake, J. C. 
Poland, George W. Washing-ton, John Ham mack, William 
French, B. D. Stump, W. Donaldson, James Liller, John 
Starkey, Elijah Rinehart, Samuel Cooper, James Sheetz, 
Georg-e Spaid, N. Alkire, H. Alkire, H. Parrell, William D. 
Rees, E. M. Armstrong, J. W. Albin, S. Milleson, A. A. 
Brill and Thomas Crawford, Justices. 

"It is ordered that the county court of Hampshire 
county doth appropriate the sum of ten thousand dollars, 
if so much be necessary, for war purposes, to be levied upon 
all the property of the county liable to state tax, except so 
much as is exempt from levy; that five thousand dollars of 
this sum be levied at this time, and the remaining five 
thousand dollars, tog-ether with an additional amount to 
cover the accruing interest, be levied at the May term, 
1862; that bonds be issued, payable at the proper times, 
and that the bank at Romney be requested to cash the 
same as they may be required; and that James D. Arm- 
strong-, John M. Pancake, and Isaac Parsons be and they 
are hereby appointed to execute said bonds for and on be- 
half of the county of Hampshire; that the said sum be 
placed in the hands of the committee of safety, to be used 
at their discretion for the said purposes, and for the sup- 
port of such families of volunteers of the county in actual 
service as may require assistance. The committee of 
safety are hereby directed to report their proceedings 
under this order to this court at its March term, 1862- 
The committee of safety consists of the following gentle-* 
men: James D. Armstrong, Isaac Parsons, John M. Pan- 
cake, David Gibson, Dr. S. R. Lupton, John C. Heiskell, J. 



BEGINNING OF THE STRIFE. 



549 



W. Marshall, W. A. Vance, R. K. Sheetz, A, W. McDonald, 
James Sheetz, John T. Pierce, James W. Alhin, Charles 
Blue, John A. Smith, Robert Hook, R. B. Sherrard, G. W. 
Gore, George W. Washington, and John Johnson, as ap- 
pears by the proceeding's of a public meeting- held in Rom- 
ney, Saturday, April 26, 1S61. A roll call of the court on 
the foregoing order shows that all the members of the 
court voted aye, except Lupton, Hammack, Liller, Cooper, 
and Albin who voted no." 

It is to be regretted that no record exists of any subse- 
qent proceedings of this committee and by some it is be- 
lieved that no meeting was held after May 29, 1861. George 
W. Washington in his journal mentions all the meetings 
up to that time, but none later. 

Romney' s Remarhable Record.— No town in 

West Virginia, and, except Winchester, Virginia, perhaps 
none in the United States, has a record surpassing Rom- 
ney's in respect to changing hands during the Civil war. 
If the complete record could be obtained it is confidently 
believed that Romney would surpass Winchester, which 
chang*ed hands seventy-eight times during the war. Rom- 
ney has fifty-six times to its credit; and those who are ac- 
quainted with the facts say there were many more, but no 
record of them can be found, and the well-established fif.ty- 
six captures of the town must suffice. It will not be pre- 
sumed that there was a battle every time the town changed 
hands. There was no hard battle, and the skirmishes 
were neither severe nor numerous. At times the troops 
of one side would march peaceably out and the other side 
would occupy. Again, a few shots would be exchanged; 
and on two or three occasions the fighting had considera- 
ble importance. 

The table which follows will show in chronological 
sequence the captures and recaptures of Romney between 
June 10, 1861, and April 15, 1865. In another part of this 
book the important captures will be given more in detail. 



550 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Virginia militia, in the service of the Southern Confeder- 
acy, held the town from the beginning* of the war till June 
11, 1861. Then beg-an Romney's vicissitudes of fortune, 
as follows: 

June 11, 1861, captured by General Lew Wallace and 
held a few hours. 

June, 1861, occupied by Colonel McDonald, with confed- 
erate militia. 

July 21, 1861, Colonel Cain, with a federal force, took pos- 
session and remained a few hours. 

July, 1861, Colonel Cummins came in with confederate 
troops. 

September 24, 1861, Colonel Cant well, with Ohio troops, 
took the town after a brisk skirmish. 

September 24, 1861, Colonel McDonald recaptured it and 
drove the federals nearly to Keyser, fighting- all the way. 

October 27, 1861, General Kelley marched from Keyser 
and captured Romney after a fight which at that time was 
considered severe. The confederates retreated, with loss 
of cannon and wagons. 

January 14, 1862, Stonewall Jackson took peaceable pos- 
session, General Lander having- retreated. The Hamp- 
shire militia were a day or two ahead of Jackson in enter- 
ing-- the town. 

March 3, 1862, Colonel Downey of the union army, occu- 
pied Romney after General Loring-, who had been left here 
by Jackson, marched back to Winchester. For the next 
four captures the dates cannot be definitely fixed. 

Spring- of 1862 Hampshire militia occupied when Colonel 
Downey withdrew. 

Summer 1852, Colonel Greenfield, with the twenty-second 
Pennsylvania regiment, was the next. 

Slimmer of 1862, Hampshire militia, or troops from the 
reg-ular confederate army, occupied Romney after the 
Pennsylvanians had retired. 



BEGINNING OF THE STRIFE. 



551 



Fall 1862, General Lander sent Maryland troops to Rom- 
ney (federal). 

November, 1862, General Imboden occupied the town 
with a confederate force. 

December 29, 1862, General Milroy, with a strong- fed- 
eral force, occupied the town for a day or two, as he was 
marching- to Winchester. 

During- the first four months of 1863 there is no record 
that troops of either side entered the town, but that was a 
time of military activity, and in all probability Romney 
changed hands several times during- these months. 

June 7 (probably), 1863, Captain McNeill, with a confed- 
erate force, was in possession. 

June 15, 1863, Colonel Campbell came in with a federal 
force. 

June 16, 1863, General Imboden occupied Romney on his 
march to Gettysburg-. 

June 17, 1863, a federal company was in possession of the 
town one hour. 

June 18, 1863, a confederate force took possession, and 
hurried on to join the forces then on the march to Gettys- 
burg-. It is believed that these men belonged to Imboden's 
brigade and that they had been scouting in the mountains 
of Hardy county. 

June, 1863, a federal cavalry company entered Romney. 

June 22 (probably), 1863, Captain Sheetz. with a confed- 
erate force, occupied the town. 

June 22 (probably), 1863, Lieutenant Summers, with a 
federal force, took possession after Captain Sheetz with- 
drew. 

July 12, 1863, a confederate force again took possession. 
August 8, 1863, Romney occupied by federal cavalry. 
August 15 (probably), 1863, confederates entered 
Romney. 

September, 1863, federal troops, known as Blinker's 
Dutch, captured the place. 



552 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 

October 5, 1863, a confederate force was again in pos- 
session. 

October, 1863, federal cavalry held the town for a short 
time. There is no record of further occupation of the 
town in 1863. 

January 5, 1864, McNeill was in possession of Rornn^y. 
January 8, 1864, federal cavalry entered and took pos- 
session. 

February 1, 1864, confederate cavalry held the town. 
February 1, 1864, New York cavalry drove out the con- 
federates. 

February 3, 1864, the town was in possession of confed- 
erates belonging to General Rpsser's command. 

February 3, 1864, General Averell, who was hunting for 
Rosser, took the town. 

May 10, 1864, McNeill was once more in possession. 

May 10, 1864, McNeill departed and federal troops were 
in possession. 

May 10, 1864, the confederates, whether McNeill or not 
cannot be ascertained, drove out the federals, making three 
times in one day that Romuey changed hands. 

July, 1864, federal cavalry under Ringgold held the 
town. 

August 5, 1864, General McCausland occupied Romney 
on his return from his raid into Pennsylvania. 

August S, General Averell passed through Romney in 
-pursuit of McCausland, having been only two hours behind 
him when McCausland set fire to Chambersburg-, and hav- 
ing' been in pursuit all the way to Romney. He overtook 
and signally defeated him at Moorefield, a full account of 
which will be found in this book. 

August 29, 1864, McNeill occupied Romney. 

October 31, 1864, federal cavalry from Springfield occu- 
pied the place. 

November 1, 1864, McNeill occupied the town on his way 
to attack Spring-field. 



BEGINNING OF THE STRIFE. 553 

November 2, 1864, federals pursuing- McNeill entered 
Romney. 

November 23, 1864, confederates belong-ing- to General 
Rosser's force occupied the town, the day that Keyser 
was captured. 

January, 1865, federal troops from Cumberland were in 
tne town. 

February 1, 1865, a force of two hundred confederates 
were in possession of Romney. 

February 5, 1S65, Colonel Young- with a federal force 
were in the town. This was the force which murdered 
Captain Georg*e Stump. 

February 7 (probably) 1865, MeNeill held the town. 

February 13, 1865, the federal were once more in pos- 
session. 

February 19, 1865, McNeill was once more in possession, 
carrying- away Generals Crook and Kelley as prisoners, 
having- captured them at Cumberland, a full account of 
which will be found in this book. 

February 19, 1865, federal cavalry, pursuing- McNeill, 
were in the town about one hour. 

February 19, 1865, a small confederate force dashed into 
the town as the federals were retreating- and drove out the 
strag-glers, capturing- one prisoner. 

February 25 (probably), 1865, federals from Cumber- 
berland were in possession. 

April 15 (probably), 1865, the town was held for the last 
time by armed confederates. They were the companies 
of McDonald and Sheetz, which had escaped from Virginia 
when General Lee. surrendered. 



CHAPTER XLVII, 



>o« 

LEW WALLACE TAKES ROMNEY. 

The first union troops to occupy Romney were under Gen- 
eral Lew Wallace, June 11, 1861. Prior to that time the 
Hampshire militia and several confederate companies had 
occupied the town, sometimes in strong* force, and some- 
times not. There were too few confederates in Romney 
when Wallace come, tooffer much resistance, and no attempt 
was made to hold the place. A few men with rifles posted 
themselves on the bluff overlooking- the South branch 
bridg-e, and fired as the federals advanced; but ran as soon 
as a few shots had been exchang-ed. The confederates 
who were in the town retreated, and nearly all the citizens 
went with »them. It was the first view of the blue coats 
the people of Romney had, and they did not know whether 
they could safely remain, or whether they would be safer 
somewhere else. General Wallace, as is generally known, 
was author of Ben Hur and other famous works. If all 
soldiers were as gentlemanly as he, and as considerate of 
others, war would lose many of its horrors. It is appro- 
priate in this connection to quote from the journal of 
George W. Washing-ton under date of June 12, 1861. Pie 
says: 

"I rode up to the upper end of the place, and on my re- 
turn met Everett who informed me that the federal troops 
were in Romney. I rode on to Romney to see what was 
g-oing- on. Before I g"ot there they left. I was told that 
the officers were g-entlemen and that they informed the 
citizens they would be perfectly secure under this protec- 
tion^ that they had come to the county by invitation, and 



LEW WALLACE TAKES ROMNEY. 555 



that no unarmed person would be disturbed. The inhabi- 
tants had generally left before I got there. The brave 
soldiery of the county! The last heard of them they were 
fleeing- toward Harper's Ferry." 

It was during- this occupation by the federals that the 
printing- material of the South Branch Intelligencer was 
destroyed. There was not so much as a piece of type 
left. The paper had been strong- in its support of seses- 
sion. 

Rich ard Ashby Killed.— On June 26, 1861, Richard 
Ashby, brother of General Turner Ashby, was mortally 
wounded by a ba} 7 onet thrust through the body, in an en- 
counter on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad near the mouth 
-of Dan's run, in what was then Hampshire county, but is 
now Mineral. A bod} 7 of confederates from Winchester 
had reached Romney on June 17. The two Ashby brothers 
were of the number. A few days later the Ashby cavalry 
was sent to Patterson's creek, and was in that reg-ion until 
June 26. On that day Richard Ashby, Garrett Monroe 
and seven others encountered a larg-e force of federals at 
the mouth of Dan's run. In attempting- to ride across a 
cattle stop on the railroad, Ashby's horse fell, and the 
rider was thrown. He was attacked, wounded in seven 
places, and left for dead on the railroad. His companions 
escaped. After the federals had passed on, the wounded 
officer rallied and w T as able to walk to the side of the rail- 
road where he concealed himself under bushes and lay 
there till evening-. In the meantime his brother Colonel, 
afterwards General, Turner Ashby was scouting- with a 
larg-er party along- the railroad, and learned from the citi- 
zens that heavy firing had been heard that morning- from 
the direction in which his brother had gone, and the 
colonel hastened to ascertain the fate of his brother. In a 
short time he discovered a camp of federal soldiers on 
Kelley's island in the Potomac river, and charged the 
camp, losing- three men, but succeeding- in dislodging- the 



556 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



federals. Among- the spoils of the capture was Richard 
Ash by 's horse, and from this it was concluded the rider 
had been killed. Search for him was made, and he was 
found near where he had been wounded. He was carried 
to the house of Mr. Cheshire one-half mile from Spring - - 
field, where he received every attention. There was no 
hope for his recovery, and on July 4, 1861, he died. He 
was buried in Indian Mound cemetery, Romney. Roman- 
tic writers, with more regard for sensationalism than for 
truth, have conveyed erroneous ideas of the death and 
burial of Richard Ashly; and it is the duty of the historian 
to correct these so far as he can. It has been represented 
th&t a dramatic scene took place by the open grave when 
General Ashby broke his brother's sword, threw the 
pieces in the grave, and registered a solemn vow to be 
avenged upon the murderers of his brother. Nothing- of 
the kind occurred. The funeral was solemn and impres- 
sive, and General Ashby enacted no theatrical part. He 
knew that his brother had fallen in open battle; that it was 
the fortune of war, and that his fate was that which every 
soldier might expect. The body of Richard Ashby was 
removed to Winchester, Virginia, in October 1862, and was 
buried beside his brother, General Ashby. At the same 
time and in the same cemetery was buried the body of 
Captain George Sheelz. Richard and Turner Ashby were 
grandsons of Captain John Ashby who did service in 
Hampshire during- the French and Indian war of 1755, and 
who was a personal friend of youthful George Washington. 

Colonel Cain's Visit.— Colonel Cain of the federal 
army, paid Romney a visit on July 22, 1861. After Lew 
Wallace withdrew his troops, June 12, there had been no 
federals in the vicinity to dispute the possession of Rom- 
ney by the confederates. In the latter part of July, how- 
ever, there were no confederate forces in Romney, except 
a few straglers. On the twenty-second of that month, it 
being Monday, and a court day, a few persons were stand- 



LEW WALLACE TAKES ROMNEY. 



557 



ing- around, the court house, when a federal soldier rode up 
with a white flag- and asked for David Gibson, who came 
forward and was handed a letter by the soldier. He read 
it and announced that it was from Colonel Cain, who want- 
ed an interview with him. The news spread that the 
yankees were coming-, and the people fled, and the federal 
soldiers were not opposed when they came in. No one 
now remembers what was the business which Colonel Cain 
talked over with Mr. Gibson. On that date, July 22, 1861, 
Georg-e W. Washing-ton wrete in his journal: "Monday, 
court day. I doubt, however, whether there will be any 
court, as I understand everybody has run away from the 
town and county, nearly, * * * * I rode to. Romney. As 
I expected, no court. Before I left there was quite a stir 
among what few people were there, from Mr. Gibson's 
having received a letter from Colonel Cain of the federal 
army, requesting- an interview with him. The few that 
were left all made their escape." 

Fight at Hanging Rocks. — A skirmish took place 

at Hanging- Rocks, four miles below Romney, on Tuesday 
morning-, September 24, 1861, between Hampshire militia 
and several companies of union troops under Colonel Cant- 
well of the eighty-second Ohio regiment. The militia was 
under Colonel McDonald. Captain Robinson and Lieuten- 
ant John Blue were also in the company. There were only 
twenty-seven men on the confederate side, but in addition 
to these, a larg-e scouting* party had been sent down the 
river. Rumors of the approach of the federals had been 
circulating for some time, arid McDonald kept a sharp 
lookout. On the evening of September 23 he had received 
information which led him to believe that the federals would 
attempt to pass Hanging- Rocks early the next morning;. 
With his twenty-six men he climbed to the top of the rocks 
a while before day on the morning of September 23. The 
air hein^ cool, some of the men built a lire, which was in- 
discreet, for they might thus have betrayed their presence. 



558 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



But the fog* was dense and the fire was not discovered by 
the enemy. 

The Hanging" Hocks rise perpendicularly more than 
two hundred feet, the top overhanging" the base in several 
places. The South branch flows along- the base of the 
cliff about half a mile, leaving- a space between the water 
and the rocks varying- in width from forty to one hundred 
feet. The road leading from Romney to Cumberland 
passes along the narrow strip of level land between the 
river and the base of the cliff. Since the war a railroad 
bas been built there also; but at the time of the skirmish 
only the Romney and Cumberland pike occupied the nar- 
row space. Troops marching- to Romney from the north, 
would naturally follow that road; and Colonel McDonald 
took advantage of the strong position to check the advance* 
Stones were piled near the brink of the precipice by the 
men who had taken possession of the summit, and they 
prepared to hurl them upon the federals who might at- 
tempt to pass below. Everything was in readiness by the 
break of day. As already stated, Colonel McDonald had 
sent a scouting party down the river the night before* 
The party was liable to return at any time, and the men on 
the cliff had been instructed to make no mistake by attack- 
ing their own scouts. Soon after daybreak cavalry was 
heard crossing- the ford of the river at the north end of the 
pass; and presently the head of the column appeared, fol- 
lowing- the road up the river along the base of the cliff. 
The confederates on the rocks were lying flat, with their 
heads and shoulders over the brink, peering down through 
the fog-, trying to determine whether the men below were 
enemies, or only the looked-for scouts who had been sent 
down the river. The federals were suspicions of the place, 
were expecting an attack, and consequently were on a 
sharp lookout. They saw the heads of the rebels project- 
inp over the cliff, and instantly fired on them. That 
brought a furious attack from the militia above. Down 



LEW WALLACE TAKES ROMNEY. 559 



came a rain of stones sufficient to have crushed an arm} r . 
The yankee cavalry saved itself by wheeling- and rushing- 
back down the road. But in so doing- the horsemen rode 
over the infantry in the rear. Many rushed into the river 
to save themselves. Those w r ho could swim g-ot safely 
over; but many were drowned. The bodies of a dozen or 
more afterwards were taken from the river and buried in 
the sand on the west bank. During the high water on the 
following- Saturday, September 28, other bodies were 
w 7 ashed down the river and were taken out and buried. 
For years afterwards, at the place where the soldiers were 
drowned, muskets were occasionally entangled in the lines 
of fishermen and were drawn up. 

The federals recrossed the river at the ford a short dis- 
tance below and there halted. At that moment Garrett I. 
•Blue, who lived just below there, father of Lieutenant John 
Blue, rode up the pike. As it happened, there had been a 
confederate camp a few days before at the ford, and Mr. 
Blue mistook the federals for confederates, and rode across 
the river to them. Seeing- all in readiness for moving-, he 
remarked: "Well, you are about to go, I see." He did not- 
even then discover his mistake, nor did he when a yankee 
remarked: "That is a very nice rifle you are carrying. 
Let me see it." Mr. Blue handed it to the soldier, who 
examined it and asked: "Do you think you could hit a 
yankee with it?" "I think I could," was the reply. "Well," 
answered the soldier, "You mig-ht be so foolish as to do it, 
and I will take charge of your g-un and you too. We are 
yankees." Mr. Blue submitted with the best grace he 
could. In a few minutes after, Garrett W. Blue rode up 
to the opposite side of the river. He w T as making- off w T hen 
they halted him. He refused to stop and w T as fired upon. 
His horse threw him and he was taken prisoner. Colonel 
Frazier, a union officer w T ho was present, and who was ac- 
quainted with both prisoners, interceded for them and 
they were set at liberty. 



560 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



After the check to the union forces at Hanging- Rocks 
there was great excitement in Romney, where Colonel Mc- 
Donald had about seven hundred militia. It was discov- 
ered that the federals had not retreated toward Cumber- 
land, but had taken the road to Mechanicsburg, five miles 
southwest, and were preparing- to advance on Rom- 
ney through Mill creek gap, three miles southwest of the 
town — where Mill creek cuts through the mountain to 
reach the South branch. The confederates had two old 
cannon, and with these fired a few shells as the federals 
attempted to pass down the gap. The only damage done, 
so far as ascertained, was the sending of a sheil through a 
house which stood in range. The house still stands as a 
witness of the fact. Colonel McDonald had doubts as to 
his ability to hold the town, and he removed the greater 
part of his stores, and in the evening withdrew nearly all 
his troops to Frenchburg, on the Winchester pike, six 
miles east of Romney, leaving a strong picket at Mill creek 
gap to oppose the advance of the federals. The pass is 
long and narrow, easily defended by a small force against 
an army. Later in the war a company of seventy confed- 
erates posted there, held Averell's army in check several 
hours. McDonald believed that his picket could hold the 
pass so long as there was no attack in the rear. But there 
was danger of that. The federals might force their way 
through the gap at Hanging- Rocks, where they had been 
repulsed in the morning; and by crossing the hills, cut off 
the retreat of the confederates toward Winchester. 

During the whole afternoon of September 24, McDon- 
ald's men held the pass at Mill creek. A force of Hamp- 
shire militia under Lieutenant John Blue was in Romney. 
During the night of September 24 the picket at the g-ap 
was on the alert. But just after daybreak on September 
25, a blunder and a false alarm lost the pass to the confed- 
erates. A picket had been stationed in the woods, on the 
hillside to look out for federal flanking parties. In the 

38 



LEW WALLACE TAKES ROMNEY. 561 

nearly morning", when the fog- was dense, the picket dis- 
cerned a large log" which, in the serai-darkness, ke mistook 
for a line of yankee soldiers drawn up among- the bushes. 
He gave the alarm, and there was great confusion and ex- 
citement until it was ascertained that the alarm was false. 
But one blunder had scarcely been corrected before a more 
serious one was committed. A report came that Colonel 
Cantwell had forced the pass at Hanging Rocks and was 
getting- in the rear of Romney. It was a false report, but 
it was acted upon by the confederates as though true. 
They retreated toward Winchester, abandoning- the pass 
which they had held all night. The federals came through, 
-and in a short time were in possession of Romney. 

That was early in the morning. McDonald's troops 
were nearly all at French burg, six miles east. Those who 
had held the gap hastened up the pike to join the main 
body. Lieutenant John Blue, with a few militiamen, was 
"in Romney. As the retreating rebels ran through town, 
shouting that the yankees were coming, Lieutenant Blue 
and his few men took to the hills, barely escaping- the en- 
emy. Colonel Cantwell sent a cannon about half a mile up 
the Winchester road and fired a few times at the militia on 
the hill. The fire was returned, and one of the federals 
was wounded. 

By this time the fog had cleared away. While the yan- 
kee cannon was wasting ammunition in a fruitless endeavor 
to drive the militia from the hill, a cloud of dust was ob- 
served where the pike passes down Jersey mountain to- 
ward Romney. McDonald's cavalry was coming on a 
charge. The yankees understood what it meant. They 
hooked to their cannon and out of town they went, faster 
than they had come in. McDonald's men came, shooting. 
The yankees returned the fire as they ran. Near the 
bridge which crossed the South branch the federals made 
a stand, and a brisk fight took place, but with little damage 
to either side. The confederates began crossing to Gib- 



562 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



son's island, expecting- to take the federals in the flank.. 
While executing- this movement Robert J. Tilden of Cap- 
tain Sheetz's company, had his arm broken. The federals 
gave ground, and the retreat and pursuit were continued 
through Mill creek gap. It was a running fight at long- 
range. Colonel Cantwell took the road over Middle ridge 
for "New Creek. Two or three times the rear guard made 
a stand and held the confederates in check. In one of those 
skirmishes Lieutenant Blue's horse was wounded and he 
was left on foot. He had been riding* the horse from which 
Tilden had fallen when wounded. Captain Sheetz of Com- 
pany F, undertook to lead a flanking party for the purpose 
of surrounding the federals near Headsville, on Patterson 
creek. But it resulted only in harm to his own men. After 
following a mountain road some distance, be tired, by mis- 
take, upon his own men, mortally wounding one of them. 
The federals were pursued to the top of Knobly mountain* 
within a few miles of New Creek, now Keyser. 



CHAPTER XLVIIL 



«o» 

GENERAL KELLEY'S CAMPAIGN, 

The most important battle fougmt at Romney during- the 
war was on October 27, 1861, between the confederate 
forces occupying- the town and the union forces under 
General B. F. Kelley. General Lew Wallace had occupied 
Romney in June of the same year, expecting- that it would 
not be again occupied by the confederates in strong- force. 
But no sooner had he retired than the confederates took 
possession of the town. Colonel Cantwell with a union 
force crossed from New Creek in September to dislodg'e 
Colonel McDonald, the confederate officer in command at 
the town; but that expedition ended in a magmincenf horse 
race from Romney to New Creek, the yankees getting- into 
New Creek about four jumps ahead of the rebels. This 
state of affairs was not satisfactory to the government at 
Washington. As a town, Romney was not of enough im- 
portance to call for much exertion on the part of either 
side to hold it. But as a strategic point it was valuable. If 
the federals expected to keep the Baltimore and Ohio rail- 
road open, which they were determined to do, it was dan- 
gerous to leave a confederate force ensconced at Romney, 
whence, in a few hours, they could cut the railroad, and 
cripple large operations elsewhere; for that railroad was 
of vast importance to the federal government. These 
were the considerations which induced General Kelley to 
move in October against Romney with a force deemed suf- 
ficient to overcome any resistance likely to be met. The 
warm reception given Colonel Cantwell caused Kelley to 
advance with caution. 



\ 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



On October 22, 1861, General Scott ordered General 
Kelley to concentrate his forces at New Creek and attack 
and capture Romney. In obedience to this order he left 
New Creek, now Xeyser, early on the morning- of October 
"27. The distance to Romney was about twenty-four 
miles. The confederates proposed to meet him. They 
planted a twelve pounder rifle cannon and a mountain 
howitzer in Indian Mound cemetery, ready to fire as the 
head of the federal column should emerge from Mill 
creek g'ap. But they did not idly wait for the federals to 
appear. A strong- party was posted in the gap and the 
1&ght began there about four o'clock in the afternoon. 
This confederate outpost soon gave way and the soldiers 
retreated toward Romney, the federals following- closely 
till they came out into the open country below the mouth 
of Mill creek. The confederate artillery opened fire; and 
Kelley unlimbered three guns, and placing them in the 
pike below the mouth of Mill creek gap, returned the Sre 
of the confederates. Kelley's army did sot pause, but 
proceeded to Romney. The infantry crossed the bridge, 
and the cavalry forded the river and charged up the road. 
The confederates abandoned their cannon and retreated 
toward Winchester. General Kelley captured two can- 
non; three wagon loads of new rifles; a considerable 
quantity of tents and other stores; two hundred horses; 
and sixty prisoners. Colonel E. M. Armstrong was among- 
the prisoners. The loss was not heavy in killed and 
^wounded on either side, but the exact number cannot be 
ascertained. Four days after that, General Kelley 
received from Assistant Adjutant General Townsend at 
Washington, the following telegram, dated October 30: 
4 'Your late movement upon and signal victory at Rom- 
ney do you great honor in the opinion of the president and 
of Lieutenant General Scott. You shall be reinforced as 
soon as practicable. In the meantime, if necessary, call 
for any troops at Cumberland or New Creek." 



* 



GENERAL KELLEY'S CAMPAIGN. 565 

General Kelley remained in Romney till January 1, 1862, 
organizing- and drilling- troops. He was succeeded at 
Romney by General Lander. The federals retreated from 
Romney a few days later at the approach of Stonewall 
Jackson. When General Kelley entered Romney October 
27 he issued the following proclamation: u To the people 
of Hampshire county and the upper Potomac: My object 
in addressing- you is to g-ire you assurance that I have come 
among- you, not for the purpose of destroying- you, but to> 
protect all your rights socially and politically. All persons 
who have taken up arms against the government of the 
United States are obliged to lay them down, and return to 
their homes, and if they will take the oath of allegiance,, 
and conduct themselves as peaceable citizens they will be 
protected in all their rights under the Sag" which has so 
long- and so well protected them. You have lived long 
happy, socially and politically, but if you attempt to carry- 
on a general warfare against my troops by attacking my 
wagons, shooting my guards or pickets, you will be con- 
sidered as enemies and treated accordingly here in your- 
own country." 

The Wire Bridge Fight — A skirmish occurred in 
the latter part of October, 1861, at the wire bridge, seven 
miles below Romney, between Hampshire militia, under: 
Colonel Alexander Monroe on one side, and several com- 
panies of union troops on the other. The union force 
formed the left column of General Kelley 's army in its ex- 
pedition against Romney. While the main division, 
marched from New Creek by way of Mill creek gap, the 
left column proceeded by way of Springfield, with the in- 
tention of passing up the river to the objective point- 
Colonel Monroe's militia at that time was guarding the 
road leading up the river to Romney. The main farce*, 
with two pieces of artillery, was camped at Buffalo creek,, 
about three miles below the town, while Colonel Monroe 
was in personal command of a smaller company at the wire 



566 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



bridg-e. He placed his men in position to rake the bridge 
with their fire in case the federals should attempt to pass 
over it. As an additional hindrance to their progress, he 
removed several planks from the middle of the bridge. 
Y/hen the union troops arrived and reached the opening in 
the bridge, they were fired upon. One was killed and was 
left lying on the bridge, and others were wounded. There 
was a stampede. The federals fled, leaving the militia in 
possession of the bridge, and leaving thirty-five hats and 
caps on the bridge. In the meantime cannonading- was 
heard at Romney, which announced that General Kelley 
w r as taking- the town. The militia which had been posted 
to guard the road up the river saw that its services were 
useless there any longer, and that it was liable to an attack 
in the rear by the federal forces in Romney; and, there- 
fore, a retreat was ordered. Colonel Monroe fell back from 
the wire bridge, crossed the mountains and reached Blue's 
g-ap on the Winchester road. The forces at Buffalo did 
likewise, hauling their two pieces of artillery up the moun- 
tain at the head of Buffalo creek that night, and by that 
route reached Blue's g-ap in safety. 

When the federal forces approached Springfield, two 
miles from the wire bridge, on their march to that place, 
many citizens of the town concealed themselves in their 
houses. A minister of the gospel who occupied a pulpit in 
the town, was panic-stricken when he saw the blue uni- 
forms coming, and with a wild yell, "Whoop! I can't stand 
that!" mounted the first horse he could find and fled, and 
never came back. Perhaps, in his new field of labor, if he 
ever found a new field, he preached his first sermon from 
the text, "The wicked flee when none pursue." 

Blue's Gap Captured— Although General Kelley 
had occupied Romney October 27, 1861, he did not advance 
to Blue's gap, fifteen miles east, for two months. A con- 
federate force held the gap. It was General Keller's pur- 
pose to protect the Baltimore and Ohio railroad and not to 



GENERAL KELLEY'S CAMPAIGN. 



567 



-waste bis time and incur expense in useless expeditions 
up and down the back country where nothing" was to be 
.gained. The time had not yet arrived for an advance from 
Romney to Winchester, and the federal general was not 
disposed to push in that direction until the time came. He 
saw no reason why he should attack the few men at Blue's 
g-ap. If he should occupy the place it would necessitate 
keeping a strong force there to hold it, unless he should 
abandon it and return to Romney. This would be a use- 
less campaign. 

But, as the winter advanced, and the small parties of 
-confederates continued to annoy the outposts and waylay 
scouting parties, it became a military necessity to drive 
the confederates from Blue's gap. Captain Sheetz was in 
command there, With a few r hundred men, and had fortified, 
the pass with two small pieces of artillery — the same g-uns 
that had been stationed at Buffalo to guard the Hanging- 
Rocks gap at the time of General Kelley's capture of Rom- 
ney. Fortifications, not very extensive, but naturally 
strong, were built in a position to command the gap. Then, 
when inteilig-ence was received that an attack was to be 
made, Captain Sheetz moved three miles up the road to 
Pleasant Dale to meet the enemy. About daybreak the 
federals came in sig-ht, and Captain Sheetz fell back toward 
Blue's gap, firing occasionally upon the advancing troops. 
The bridge across North river was four hundred yards in 
front of the gap. Having crossed this, it was set on fire 
by Captain Sheetz, w T ho withdrew tow T ard his fortifications, 
which he expected the militia to occupy and defend. But 
the federals came more rapidly than had been expected, 
and reached the fortifications before the rebel militia could 
get there, and all hope of successfully defending the pass 
was lost. The militia retreated toward Winchester, or 
scattered through the woods and mountains in all direc- 
tions. Captain Sheetz was compelled to retreat, but with- 
drew his men in good order until he had gone a mile be- 



568 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



yond the pass, where the country was more open. There 
he was charged, and was driven rapidly back. Pursuit 
was not long- continued. The cannon abandoned by the 
militia fell into the hands of General Kelley's army. The 
troops returned to Romney. This expedition took place 
early in January,. 1863. General Lander was in immediate 
command at the time. When he fell back from Blue's 
gap he burned between thirty and forty residences and 
outbuilding's on each side of the road, between that point 
and Romney. He defended his course on the ground that 
it was a military measure rendered necessary because the 
residents of that part of the couestry aided and encouraged 
the confederates in attacking- the union outposts. 

Frenchhurg Burned.— The small group of houses 
called Frenchhurg, six miles < a-»t of Romney, on the Win- 
chester road, was burned by federal soldiers late in 1861 
on the pretext that the inhabitants were giving- aid to rebel 
bushwhackers. The specific grounds for the charge were 
these: Sergeant John C. Leps with seven men left the con- 
federate camp at Blue's gap, and concealing- his force in a 
thicket near Frenchhurg-, fired upon a detachment of union 
cavalry, and killed and wounded several men, coir peling- 
the survivors to retreat. This greatly incensed tne fed- 
eral officers, who refused to recognize bushwhacking as a 
legitimate method of warfare. W arising" was sent out that 
if the act were repeated, punishment would be inflicted 
upon the citizens of the district in which the bushwhack- 
ing- was done. Captain Sheetz with a small party set out 
from Blue's gap a few days after and repaired to the vicin- 
ity of Frenchhurg, where there was a strong federal picket 
post. He climed a hill near the road and attacked four 
soldiers who w»ere passing by, wounding one and captur- 
ing three. Captain Sheetz then returned to camp at Blue's 
gap. The result was, orders were gives for the burning 
of the houses at Frenchhurg, and the little village was 
wiped out. 



GENERAL KSLLEY'S CAMPAIGN. 569 

Capture of an Officer's Horse — During- the early 
part of the winter of 1861-2, General KeUey with several 
thousand soldiers was stationed in and near Romney. 
There was little to do, except to keep a wary eye on Stone- 
wall Jackson at Winchester, and to send out larg-e scouting- 
parties to look after the rebels under Captain Sheetz and 
others who roamed at will along; North river. There was 
at that time a youth, sixteen or seventeen years old, named 
Elisha Shing-leton, son of John Shing-leton, liviag- a few 
miles from Romney. This boy was desirous of joining- 
the rebel army. He might have become an infantry sol- 
dier at any time, but he wanted to be a cavalryman, and 
that was not so easy to be done. The Southern Confed- 
eracy did not furnish horses for its cavalry; but each sol- 
dier must provide one for himself. Young- Shing-leton had 
no horse, and saw no prospect of procuring one by the or- 
dinary methods of bargain and sale. But, as he had set 
his heart on joining- the cavalry he was not disposed to sub- 
mit to being checkmated by so small a thing- as the want of 
a horse. He made up his mind that he would have one. 
He spied around the outskirts of Romney, and observed 
that the small boys of the town were in the habit of riding- 
the officers' horses to water at the brook which the pike 
crosses at the foot of the hill below the cemetery. A deep 
pool at the base of a larg*e rock was the favorite drinking- 
place for th 2 horses. Just before day young Shingleton 
concealed himself among some bushes and vines which 
hurg in a dense canopy over the rock, and waited for his 
chance. Presently a small lad, riding a splendid horse 
which belonged to a union oflicer, came down the pike from 
the town, rode into the pool and the horse put down his 
head and beg-an to drink. Shing-leton reached out and 
caug-ht the bridle and ordered the lad to g-et off the horse, 
which he did in a hurry, dropping in the water. Shing-le- 
ton mounted the horse and disappeared up the hill in the 
woods. The boy ran bawling- back to town and reported 



570 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



his loss. The yankees galloped up and down the roads 
for miles around, trying- to capture the daring- thief; but 
they returned without success. Meanwhile Shing-leton 
made his way through the woods and along- unfrequented 
paths to the mountains a few miles distant, where he hid 
ihe horse in a thicket and kept him several days, canning- 
hay and corn to him at night from neighboring fields. 
"When the excitement had died dowm he took the horse 
through the mountains to the confederate lines, and was 
soon a superbly equipped cavalryman. 



CHAPTER XLIX, 



>o« 

SPYING FOR JACKSON, 

When it became known, in the fall of 1861, that General 
Kelley had fortified Romney, and was preparing to occupy 
it permanently, Stonewall Jackson, who was at Winches- 
ter, began to lay plans to recapture the town. In order to 
carry out these plans it was necessary to obtain exact 
information regarding- the forces at Romney, tbe position 
of the fortifications, and the best avenues of approach. 
General Jackson requested the commanding- officer at 
Blue's gap to obtain this information, if possible. Pie 
thereupon selected Lieutenant John Blue, Major Isaac 
Parsons and William Inskeep, and instructed them to 
secure all the desired information possible by such method 
as they might think best. They were acquainted with 
every acre of the country around Romney. They pro- 
cured a good spyglass, and early one "November morning, 
.1861, took their post on Mill creek mountain, on the opposite 
side of the river from Romney, about one and a half miles 
distant. From that position they had full view of the 
town, all the surrounding country, the fortifications, the 
barracks, and everything of a military nature. Isaac Par- 
sons was skillful at drawing, and he and William Inskeep 
climbed into a tree, made themselves as comfortable as 
possible, and with the aid of the spyglass, proceeded to 
make a map of the military camp, with all the converging 
roads, and the neighboring hills. Lieutenant Blue stood 
guard at the foot of the tree, on the lookout for objects 
nearer at hand. It was a warm day, although in Novem- 
ber, and it was nearly sunset when the map was finished, 



57a 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 



and the mem were ready to come down from the tree. 
About that time the soldiers in Romney were called out on 
dress parade, and the spies had excellent opportunity of 
estimating- their number, and they remained in the tree a 

* 0 

short tune longer for that purpose. 

In the meantime Mr. Blue's ear had detected sounds of 
approaching- footsteps, en the mountain side, below them. 
He called the attention of his companions to the noise, and 
they descended from the tree, put on their coats, took up 
their guns, and were about to follow Mr. Blue, who had 
gone up the mountain and was about forty yards above 
them, when two federal soldiers made a sharp turn round 
a clump of trees, and called to the spies to surrender. 
The soldiers did not see Mr. Blue, nor did they know of 
his presence. "You are our prisoners/' exclaimed the 
soldiers as they jumped behind trees to protect themselves 
from the muskets of the spies. "I am not so sure of it; 
I guess you are our prisoners/' replied Mr. Parsons. 
"Not a bit of it/' returned one of the yankees; "throw up 
your guns and surrender." "You throw down your guns 
and surrender," said Parsons. It was an even match. 
All four of the men were behind trees, about forty yards 
apart.. After standing- awhile, each side trying- to persuade 
the other to surrender, one of the yankees called oat: 
"Hello, Reb!" "Hello, Yank," was the reply. "Suppose 
we shake hands and call it square. W e don't want to hurt 
you fellows, and I guess you are not thirsting- for blood." 
Mr. Parsons answered that he was not very blood-thirsty 
and was willing- to let bygones be bygones, and was ready 
to have peace. "Who are you, anyhow?" inquired one of 
the yankees. "Citizens out hunting;." "Well, there is no 
use to fight over it," answered the federal, "but that mus- 
ket you have looks like a rebel's. How about it?" "The 
musket is all right, and if you want to shake hands with 
us, be about it." "Leave your g-un and step out, and I will 
leave mine and step out," suggested the yankee. Both did 



SPYING FOR JACKSON. 



573 



so; Parsons stepping' out first, then one of the federals. 
Then Inskeep stepped. out unarmed, and called on the re- 
maining" yankce to do likewise. But the treacherous child 
of the frozen north sprang- out with bis musket leveled, and 
called o^t: "Now surrender. I "hare the drop on you!" 
"Drop that gun, " came a command from the hill above. 
Lieutenant Blue had stepged from behind a tree with his 
gun leveled at the yankees. The table was turned. The 
yankee dropped his gun and began to beg. He said he 
was only joking- and had no intention of shooting anybody. 
"I am not joking," replied Mr. Blue, "and if you waft! to 
save your hide, leave your gun where it is and strike a trot 
for Romney and don't dare look back until you get out of 
sight," The yankee did not stand on the order of g'oing", 
but took to his heels. The other yankee was told to leave 
his gun and follow his comrade. He did so* 

TI;e spies went to the house of David Fox and stayed all 
night, leaving at daybreak next morning. They hid in a 
clump of pines on a point some distance above Hanging* 
Rocks. By the aid of* tkeir glass they could watch the 
movements of the federals in Romney and vicinity. Numer- 
ous parties were sent across the river to search Mill creek 
mountain, supposing that the spies were still lurking there. 
But, of course, nothing was found of them on that moun- 
tain. The next night the spies made their way to Little 
Capon, where they had left their horses, and tkence pro- 
ceeded to Blue's gap. The map v/as sent to General 
Jackson. 

Lieutenant John Blue's Desperate Escape- 
It was afterwards ascertained that the two federal soldiers 
•who were driven to camp by the spies were Lieutenant 
Cole and Lieutenant Freman. It so happened that they 
were soon aftewards taken prisoner by Captain Sheetz's 
company and were carried to Capon Bridg-e. They there 
saw and recognized Lieutenant Blue, and learned his name. 
Either by exchange or other means the}' returned to the 



574 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



federal camp at Romney, and were there in the spring- of 
1862, after the confederates under Oeneral Lor mg had left 
the county. They had informed the officers that Lieuten- 
ant Blue was one of the spies who had been seen on the 
mountain, and it thereafter became an object of special im- 
portance to effect his capture. It was not deemed difficult 
to do this, as his father, Garrett*!. Blue, lived a few miles 
below Romney, and it was reported that Lieutenant Blue 
occasionally visited his father. The house was watched. 
The lieutenant had no idea that any special effort would be 
made to discover and capture him; so, about ten o'clock at 
night, late in March or early in April, 1862, he stealthily 
entered his father's house. Three hours afterwards he 
was captured and was taken to Romney under guard, and 
was confined in a room up-stairs, nearly opposite the court 
house. As he entered the room he saw a two-pound iron 
weight on the mantle, and put it in his pocket, not with any 
particular object in view, but with a vague idea that it 
might be useful in breaking- a door-lock if he had an oppor- 
tunity. He remained in the room* about a week, under 
g-uard, but suffered no hardships. His friends were per- 
mitted to carry him food, and to visit him, and he was tol- 
erably well satisfied. But one day Colonel Downey came 
in and beg-an questioning him about his business in that 
part of the country while his comrades in arms were in a 
distant place. Mr. Blue declined to answer, and the colonel 
became enraged, threatening to run him through with his 
sword. He accused Blue of being a spy, and said he had 
proof of it, and would send him to Wheeling- for trial, and 
that would be the last of him. 

The shutters of the windows from that time were closed. 
No friends were permitted to visit him or send him any- 
thing. His guard was doubled. He was fed on bread and 
water, and very little of that. He remained there till Eas- 
ter Sunday. He had been told to prepare for the trip to 
Wheeling next day. His father had visited him, and had 



SPYING FOR JACKSON. 



575 



warned him against attempting- to escape, as he would 
scarcely be able to do so, and the attempt mig-ht cost him 
his life. But he had made up his mind to escape if he 
could, for he did want to go Wheeling- to be tried as a spy. 

When the g-uard came in for the night, ten of them, all 
armed, the prospect of escape was not brig-ht. They pre- 
pared to spend the night in the room, as the air was cold 
outside. About midnig-ht all lay down to sleep but two, 
one corporal and the other a soldier who sat with his back 
ag-ainst the door. Blue lay down during- the early part of 
the night, but toward morning, complaining of being cold, 
he walked across the floor. The corporal was sitting by 
the stand, resting his head on his arm, apparently asleep. 
All the others were snoring lustily, except the soldier with 
his back against the door. He was wide awake. Lieuten- 
ant Blue waited for his time to come; but day was break- 
ing and his last hope of escape seemed to be passing. 
There was only one chance left, and that was a desperate 
one. As he passed the soldier at the door he struck him 
on the head with the iron weight which he had carried in 
his pocket. His purpose was to stun the soldier, seize his 
musket, bayonet any others who might awake, spring out 
at the door and trust luck to escape by flight. The soldier 
sank to the floor without a groan. No one awoke. Blue 
drew him aside, picked up a musket, a blue overcoat and 
a cap; put the cap on, threw the coat over his shoulders, 
opened the door and stepped out. The key was in. the lock, 
outside. Pie turned the key, passed down stairs and found 
broad daylight outside. His first impulse was to run, but 
the street was full of soldiers, and to run would attract 
notice and lead to his capture. He walked carelessly along, 
turned into an alley, and reached the foot of the hill east of 
the old cemetery. Then, being out of sight of the soldiers, 
he took to his heels. He gained the top of the hill, when a 
dozen guns were fired, giving the alarm. Pausing a moment 
among some bushes where he was out of sight, he watched 



576 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



the movements of the soldiers. He saw one squad of cav- 
alry start down toward the river, another up the pike to- 
ward French burg-, while a squad of infantry took his track 
up the hill. There was snow on the ground. The pursuit 
was vigorous. Once he was so near a company of cavalry 
that he heard the men laying- plans for his capture. He 
reached the brook which empties into the river near the resi- 
dence of William Stump, and. by wading- in that he threw his 
pursuers off the track. A dense fog- settled down asd the 
snow melted, both favorable for his escape. He endeavored 
to follow the ra$g-e of hills leading- south, facing- the river. 
In the afternoon the fog- lifted, and, to his surprise, he 
iound himself within half a mile of Romney. He had trav- 
eled in a circuit. He started again, and keeping certain 
well-known objects in sight, he reached the house of D. X 
Parsons, seven or eight miles above Ronmey, and learned 
that his pursuers had been there a few minutes before. 
He procured a horse and rode to Joseph Archey's, where 
he spent the nigra t. The aext morning- he was so stiffened 
by travel and exposure that he could scarcely move. That 
day he made his way to a shanty on Big- mountain, a. ren- 
dezvous for confederates who found it necessary to keep in 
hiding-. He there found Isaac Pancake, George Stump and 
others, and he remained there a week. 

He i&evcr ascertained to a certainty whether he had killed 
the guard whom he had struck. . A prisoner named John 
Smith, who was in the room at the time, said that the man 
died soon after, but the statement was denied by others. 
The corporal who had permitted, the escape was punished 
by being- compelled to wear a barrel shirt, that is, a hour 
barrel with holes cut for his head and arms. 

Taking Chances. — Constant association with dan- 
ger makes men reckless. There is an element in the 
makeup of men which loves romance; it takes pleasure in 
doing- unusual thing's; it runs unnecessary risks for the 
sake of the excitement. Of course, Lieutenant John Blue 

39 



SPYING FOR JACKSON. 



577 



was marked for distruction after his spying- expedition be- 
came known, and especially after he had assaulted the 
guard in Romney and had made his escape. Word was 
sent among- the union soldiers that they must be constantly 
on the outlook for him, and, if possible, take him at all haz- 
ards. Yet, in the face of this dang-er, which he well knew, 
he ventured ag-ain within the union lines in Hampshire 
county. It was after the second battle of Bull Run, ( in 
1862. General Imboden was ordered into Hampshire 
county, and Lieutenant Blue accompanied him for the pur- 
pose of visiting" his home. He approached his father's 
house in the nig-ht, and saw a soldier on the porch doing- 
picket duty. The barn was a short distance from the 
house, and Blue went there, and climbing- to the haymow, 
waited for his father to come out in the morning- to feed 
the horses. At daybreak the old gentleman came, and was 
surprised to see his son; but urg-ed him to make his es- 
cape, telling- him that pickets were posted at the house day 
and night, during the night on the porch, and during the 
day on a hill some rods in front of the house. The lieuten- 
ant said he wanted to go to the house, and would take his 
chances. He asked his father for the red blouse he wore, 
which Mr. Blue gave him, and returned in his shirt sleeves 
to the house. Lieutenant Blue waited till the relief guard 

^came on and took his post on the eminence in front of the 
door, and then, with the blouse on, he walkad leisurely to 
the house, the guard not doubting but that it was the old 
gentleman. He went up stairs and remained a week. 
Frequently the soldiers were in the room below him, and 
he heard them talking about him and asking when he had 

, been heard from. His sister told them the last letter she 
had from him he was in the vicinity of Richmond. 

At length, one Sunday morning he was lying on the floor 
upstairs, lis^ning to the guards who were in the room be- 
low. A soldier came down the road at a g'allop, calling to 
the pickets, "Run, Imboden is coming." The soldiers 



573 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



took to their heels up the hill, and when about one hundred 
yards off, Lieutenant Blue showed himself on the porch 
and told them not to be in a hurry, there was no need of 
running from rebels, as they had been in the same house 
with one for a week. They stopped, and seemed about to 
come back; but after considering- the matter a moment, 
they again took to their heels. Lieutenant Blue left the 
county with Imboden. 

A Prisoner in Cumberland.— Having- made so 
lucky an escape, Lieutenant Blue concluded to tempt fate 
once more in Hampshire county, and accordingly came 
into the neighborhood below Romney and spent a few days 
visiting among friends. While there, Captain Stump's 
company of confederates came into the vicinity, and Lieu- 
tenant Blue felt safe. One evening he visited the house 
where Garrett Parsons now lives, to attend a social gather- 
ing. Isaac Parsons was then at home, and he and Blue 
rode down to Old House run, where they saw a small squad 
of soldiers, and mistook them for rebels, supposing then 
to be a portion of Captain Stump's company. But they 
were yankees. Parsons and Blue wheeled their horses 
and galloped back, the }^ankees after them. They were 
heard coming by the ladies of Mr. Parsons' house, one of 
whom ran out and opened a gate leading up a ravine to the 
left of the road. Blue and Parsons galloped in, and before * 
the pursuers could enter, the gate was shut and locked by 
the young lady. The soldiers lost some time in breaking 
it open, and this enabled Isaac Parsons to make his escape; 
but Lieutenant Blue attempted to ride up a steep hill, 
could not do it, and was thus overtaken by half a dozen 
soldiers who had fired all the loads from their guns, and 
who came at Blue with their sabres, threatening to hack 
him to pieces. He had only a revolver, and Jhat, too, was 
empty, he having fired all the loads during his retreat up 
the road. He sprang from his horse, laid the pistol across 
the saddle, and by threatening death, destruction, and all 



SPYING FOR JACKSON. 



579 



general and particular terrors to any man who approached 
him, he kept the soldiers at bay. They seemed drunk, 
and swore dreadfully, but were afraid to approach him. 
Lieutenant Summers, who was in command of the party, 
came up and told Blue he would better surrender, as he 
was overpowered, and it was foolish to throw his li£«raway. 
"I have been waiting-," said he, "for a chance to surrender. 
These men seem to be drunk, and threaten to 1ml me." 
'•I will see that you are not hurt," replied Lieutenent Sum- 
mers, and Lieutenant Blue threw down his pistol and sur- 
rendered. He was taken to Cumberland, expecting 1 to be 
tried on the old charge of spying-; but the federals had 
either forgotten it or had decided to let it drop. He was 
treated with marked kindness by Colonel Porter and Gen- 
eral Kelley, and instead of being" sent to the g-uardhouse 
he was allowed to go where he pleased, upon his word that 
he would not leave Cumberland. Colonel Porter gave him 
ten dollars for expenses. As strang-e fortune had it, he 
met Lieutenant Cole on the street, the same who had dis- 
covered him when he was spying- for Stonewall Jackson in 
1861. He was invited to board with the yankee lieutenant, 
and did so, free of cliarg-e. In a short time he was called 
before General Kelley, who permitted him to return home 
upon his promise to stay there until further orders. 

He returned home, and before leaving- Cumberland 
bought gray cloth for a new uniform, paying for it with 
the ten dollars given him by Colonel Porter. He remained 
at home three months, assisting his father on the farm. 
One day a yankee soldier galloped up and gave him a letter 
from General Kelley, ordering him to come to Cumberland 
at once, or he would be arrested. Instead of reporting in 
Cumberland, Lieutenant Blue reported in Dixie. He and 
John Lynn, one of McNeill's men, made their way through 
the lines, and Blue had a new uniform made from his gray 
cloth, and wore it on the Gettysburg campaign, where he 
was wounded and sent to the hospital. 



580 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Prisoners Rescued by McNeill. — Lieutenant 
Blue had no sooner recovered from the wound received at 
Gettysburg- than he again came into Hampshire county. 
He was not yet able to wear a boot on the crippled foot. 
There were no federal soldiers in Romney at that time, 
nor nearer than Cumberland, as far as he knew. But a 
troop of ^Blincker's Dutch" came from Winchester and 
spread over the county. Having* learned of the arrival of 
the union troops, Lieutenant Blue, accompanied by 
Bpliriam Herriott and John Inskeep, started for Virginia 
by way of Hardy county, believing- that to be the safest 
road. After dodging- scouting- parties some time, they 
succeeding- in reaching- Lost river, where they considered 
themselves safe. They stopped for dinner at Angus 
Wood's, a place where not a yankee soldier had been seen 
during- the war, up to that time. They sat down to dinner, 
and were progressing- well, when a yankee rode up to the 
house, and presently a dozen or more followed him. They 
came into the house and took them all prisoners, mistaking- 
Blue for a colonel, because his new uniform was that of a 
colonel. They seemed very proud of their capture, and 
guarded Blue carefully. He had some letters in his pocket 
which if they should fall into the hands of the federals, 
might cause trouble for some of the people of Hampshire. 
At his first opportunity he passed them to Mrs. Wood, 
together with his pocketbook; but a soldier detected the 
movement and demanded that Mrs. Wood give the letters 
up. She said it was a pocketbook which had been passed 
to her. The soldier then demanded the pocketbook, say- 
ing that it was just what he wanted. Mrs. Wood handed 
her own pocketbook to the soldier and he was satisfied. 

The prisoners, including George Turley, who was also 
in the hands of federals, were put on horses and the caval- 
cade set forward. It was soon ascertained by the pris- 
oners, from the conversation of their captors, that the fed- 
erals were in that country hunting for Captain McNeill; 



SPYING FOR JACKSON. 



581 



and, as subsequently ascertained, McNeill was also in the 
country hunting- for the federals. When two parties are in 
the same district, h unting* for each other, and truly desirous 
of finding- the object of their search, they are usually suc- 
cessful. During- the day one of McNeill's men, Frank 
Maloney, was seen near the road, was tired upon and 
wounded in the thig-h. But he continued to run, and hav- 
ing- crossed a field in open view, and in a shower of bullets, 
reached a thicket and escaped. Joseph Williams, a pris- 
oner, made his escape during- the day by putting- spurs to 
his horse and dashing- into the woods. He was well ac- 
quainted with the county, and went straight to McNeill's 
men. 

The union troops now beg-an to grow uneasy. They 
were certain that McNeill knew more of their move- 
ments than they knew of his; and he had it in his power to 
fig-ht where he pleased, while they must accept battle 
wherever offered. If the federals had entertained doubts 
that McNeill was in the vicinity, those doubts were soon 
expelled. While moving- cautiously down the road, they 
met several small boys who were on their way home w T ith 
buckets of huckleberries which they had picked in the 
woods. They stood m a row on the upper side of the road, 
watching- the soldiers pass. At leng-th one of them piped 
out: "Captain McNeill 's down the road a-waitin' for you." 
The federal officers were aware that children sometimes 
tell very important truths without being- conscious of it. 
The children were questioned, coaxed and threatened, but 
not another word of information could be g-otten from them. 
They had evidently believed at first that they were ad- 
dressing- rebels, but discovering- them to be yankees, the 
boys' lips were sealed. After vainly trying" to ascertain 
from the children where McNeill was, the soldiers marched 
on, and orders were given to shoot the prisoners in case of 
an attack. 

McNeill was waiting- by the road. He posted his men 



582 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



on both sides, with orders not to fire until he fired first. 
He was afraid of killing- the prisoners, and it was his inten- 
tion not to fire at all unless he could ascertain whether the 
prisoners were in front or rear. He considered it better 
to permit the cavalcade to pass than to kill the prisoners. 
Night came on, a very dark one. Sometime after dark the 
federals were heard coming-. McNeill had taken his posi- 
tion behind a tree near the road, and was peering- out, try- 
ing to see where the prisoners were, when he was discov- 
ered by a yankee, who raised his revolver and fired. It was 
an unfortunate shot for the federals. It did not hurt 
McNeill, but his men took it for the expected signal to be- 
g-in the fight. Instantly a volley was poured in from both 
sides of the road. The darkness of the nig-ht was lit by 
the flash of revolvers. The federals sprang from their 
horses and tried to fight, but the rain of lead came so 
thick and fast that what few were left fled for their lives. 
About a dozen got away, while between thirty and forty 
were left dead or wounded in the road. The prisoners' 
escaped injury, except Ephraim Herriott, who was wound- 
ed in the arm. A boy who was acting- as pilot for the fed- 
erals, was shot throug-h the lungs, but he recovered, and 
was afterwards pensioned by the government. Captain 
McNeill sent a prisoner to Moorefield for a surgeon to at- 
tend the wounded, and then passed up the South fork. 
The fight occurred near Howards lick, in Hardy county. 



CHAPTER L, 



STONEWALL JACKSON IN ROMNEY, 

Early in January, 1862, Stonewall Jackson captured 
Romney. There was little opposition. General Lander 
left a few hours before the confederates arrived. Jack- 
son was in cjmmaad of this part of the state, and he re- 
garded Roniney as of considerable importance, and left 
General Loring to hold the town with a force deemed suffi- 
cient to resist successfully any union troops in the vicinity. 
Having- established Loring- in Romney, Jackson returned 
to Winchester, and soon after this resigned from the army 
of the Southern Confederacy. This is a p^int in history 
not g-enerally known, and but imperfectly understood. A 
true account of his resignation, and his reasons for that 
step, is properly given in detail in the history of .Hamp- 
shire county; for he was prompted to that action because 
the secretary of war for the Southern Confederacy inter- 
fered with his plans at Romney, and undid his work. 
Following- is a history of the matter: 

Jackson left Loring in Romney and returned to Win- 
chester. Shortly afterward, January 31, 1862, J. P. Ben- 
jamin, secretary of war for the Southern Confederacy, or- 
dered Jackson to recall Loring and his troops from Rom- 
ney to Winchester, having taken this step without consult- 
ing Jackson or ascertaining what his plans were. This 
was resented by Jackson, who, under date of January 31, 
1862, wrote to the secretary of war as follows: 

"Your order requiring me to direct General Loring to 
return with his command to Winchester immediately has 
been received and promptly complied with. With such 



584 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



interference with my command I cannot expect to be of 
much service in the field, and accordingly respectfully re- 
quest to be ordered to report for duty to the superinten- 
dent of the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, as has 
been done in the case' of other professors. Should this ap- 
plication not be granted, I respectfully request that the 
president will accept my resignation from the army. I 
am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"T. J. Jackson." 

As soon as the secretary of war received Jackson's resig- 
nation he sent an officer to Governor Letcher to acquaint 
him with the fact, and the governor hastened to the war 
office and urged 'Mr. Benjamin not to take action in the 
matter until General Jackson could be heard from further. 
The secretary agreed to the governor's proposal, and the 
resignation was laid aside. Returning to his office Gov- 
ernor Letcher wrote a long and earnest letter to General 
Jackson at Winchester, urging him to recall bis letter. 
Scarcely was this letter finished when a letter from Jack- 
son, written January 31, the date of his resignation, w T as 
delivered to Governor Letcher, saying: 

"Governor: This morning I received an order from the 
secretary of war to order General Loring and his command 
to fall back from Romney to Yv T inchester immediately. The 
order was promply complied with, but, as the order was 
given without consulting* me, and is abandoning to the en- 
emy what has cost much preparation, expense and exposure 
to secure, and is in direct conflict with my military plans, 
and implies a want of confidence in my capacity to judge 
when General Loring's troops should fall back, and is an 
attempt to control military operations in detail from the 
secretary's desk at a distance, I have, for the reason set 
forth in the accompanying paper, requested to be ordered 
back to the institute; and if this is denied me, then to have 
my resignation accepted. I ask as a special favor that you. 
will have me ordered back to the institute. As a single 



STONEWALL JACKSON IN ROMNEY. 535 



order like that of the secretary's may destroy the entire 
fruits of a campaign, I cannot reasonably expect, if my op- 
erations are thus to be interfered with, to be of much ser- 
vice in the field. A sense of duty brought me into the field 
and has thus far kept me. If now appears to be my duty 
to return to the institute, and I hope that you will leave no 
stone unturned to get me there. If I have ever acquired, 
through the blessing's of Providence, any influence over 
troops, this undoing- of my work by the secretary may 
greatly diminish my influence. I regard the recent expe- 
dition as a great success. Before our troops left here, Jan- 
uary 1, there was not, so far as I have been able to ascer- 
tain, a single loyal man in Morgan county who could remain 
at home in safety. In four days that county was entirely 
evacuated by the enemy; Romney and the most valuable 
portion of Hampshire county were recovered without firing 
a gun, and before we had even entered the county. I desire 
to say nothing against the secretary of war. I take it for 
granted that he has done what he believed to be best, but 
I regard such a policy ruinous. 

"T. J. Jackson." 
The letter which Governor Letcher wrote to General 
Jackson was carried by Colonel Boteler, and he returned 
w 7 ith Jackson's reply, in which he consented to have his 
resignation withdrawn from the files of the war office. 
This was done. The resignation was entrusted to the 
keeping of Governor Letcher. When the confederates 
retreated from Richmond this paper was forgotten, and 
would have been lost had not the governor's mother 
secured it, w T ith other papers, and carried it to, a place of 
safety. 

Skirmish at Peter Poland's— In April, 1862, a 
fight occurred near Grassy Lick, at the residence of Peter 
Poland, between a company of federals and a dozen or more 
men who were preparing to enter the confederate service. 
At that time a man styling himself Captain Umbaugh was. 



.586 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



in that part of Hampshire county raising- a company for 
the confederate service. He claimed to have authority 
from Stonewall Jackson, but it was subsequently learned 
that he had no authority. He collected a dozen or more 
men and would perhaps have raised a company if his career 
had not been cut short. Colonel Downey of the union army, 
went out from Romney with one company, on April 22, 
1862, looking- for Captain Umbaugh's men, and any other 
confederates he might find. They came to the house of 
Peter Poland and took his son, Peter Poland, jr., prisoner. 
The young- man was a confederate soldier and was visiting 
his father. Sometime after the federals left, Captain Urn- 
baug-h, with a dozen of his men, came to Mr. Poland's to 
spend the nig-ht. About three o'clock in the morning- the 
federals returned and called upon the men to surrender. 
They refused to do so, and a fight immediately began. 
The yankees fired throng- h the doors and windows. The 
walls were so thick that bullets would not come throug-h. 
The members of the family protected themselves the best 
they could from the bullets, but one came throug-h the door 
and struck Peter Poland's arm. The same bullet wound- 
ded Isaiah W. Pownall. Jasper Pownall, who was in the 
house, was also wounded. Peter Poland's wound proved 
fatal two weeks later. When daylig-ht came the men in 
the house killed three federals and the others withdrew. 
Captain Um baug-h took advantag-e of the situation and 
retreated with his men. In a short time the federals 
returned with reinforcements from Romney, bringing 
artillery with which to batter the house, down. Troops 
also arrived from Moorefield and Petersburg-. But there 
was no one in the house to oppose them, and they notified 
Mrs. Poland and her daug-hters to take their furniture out 
•of the house. They said they would give her two hours to 
get the things out. She commenced removing the furni- 
ture, but in less than fifteen minutes the building was set 
on fire. The soldiers loaded the household goods on wag" 



STONEWALL JACKSON IN ROMNEY. 587 



ons and hauled them off. It is said there are persons in 
.an adjoining- county still sleeping- on beds stolen from Mr. 
Poland's house. His property was destroyed or carried 
off, and the inmates were turned out of doors. Mr. Poland's 
family consisted of his sons, Richard, James C, Peter, 
William, Isaac, Jasper and Frank M. His daug-hters were: 
Elizabeth, who afterwards married John Haire, who was 
in the house at the time of the fig-lit; Hannah, who married 
Isaiah Haire, and Mary C, who married Amos Roberson. 

Captain Urribaugh Kill eel. — Captain Umbaug-h, 

whose fraudulent claim to being an officer in the confed- 
erate service led to the death of Peter Poland and the 
burning of his house, continued to roam about Hampshire 
until he met his death and caused the death of others. In 
May, 1862, he was at the house of J. T. Wilson where he 
was surprised by the federals. He was shot and killed. 
At the same time and place John W. Poland was killed and 
William H. Poland was wounded and taken prisoner. 

The Grassy Lick Militia. — When the Civil war be- 
gan, the Grassy Lick militia was under Captain John H. 
Piles. It was the one hundred and fourteenth regiment of 
Virginia militia. It served one year and was then dis- 
banded, 1 many of the men joining the regular confederate 
army. Following are the names of the members of this 
company, as made up from memory, the official roll having 
been lost: John H. Piles, captain; William Pownell, first 
lieutenant; Mathew Combs, second lieutenant; Samuel 
Albright, first sergeant; J. J. Ruckman, corporal; privates: 
George JBowman, Andrew Bowman, Peyton Combs, Ab- 
solom Combs, James Cool, Joseph Civil, Elisha Heare, 
Frank Heare, Isaiah Heare, Jasper Heare, Jonathan Heare, 
John Heare, Lucas Hines, Jacob Hines, Henry Hines, Da- 
vid Hott, John Hott, James Hott, Peter Haines, John Her- 
b>augm, William Loy, jr., Samuel Loy, Jackson Lee, Jared 
McDonald, James McDonald, Samuel McDonald, Archibald 
McDonald, Mordecai Orndoff, John Piles, Rector Piles, 



588 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



John Park, Samuel Park, Solomon Park, Ashford Park, 
Benjamin Park, Peter Poland, sr., Craven Poland, Rich- 
ard Poland, Peter Poland, William Poland, James Pepper, 
Hampton Peer, J. T. Ruckman, James Ruckman, James 
Starkey, Frederick Starkey, John Swisher, George Swisher, 
Stephen Swisher, John Tharp, Samuel Tharp, William 
Timbrook, Isaac Timhrook, Joseph Timbrook, David Wol- 
ford. James Yost. 

Contain Piles' Company. — When the Grassy Hick 
militia disbanded in the 'second year of the war, Captain 
John H. Piles and a number of his men entered the .regu- 
lar army of the confederacy as Company K, electing- John 
H. Piles as captain. The company became a portion of 
Colonel Georg-e Imb ! dm's regiment, and belong-ed to Gen- 
eral John Imboden's cavalry brigade. The roll of Com- 
pany K, gathered from the memory of those living and 
from a partial record kept hy B. F. McDonald, was as fol- 
lows: John H. Piles, captain; Jere Monroe, first lieutenant; 
Jefferson Carter, second lieutenant; Jacob Carvell, third 
lieutenant; Benjamin F. McDonald, first sergeant; Benja- 
min Monroe, second sergeant; B. F. Klurnp, third ser- 
geant, Bond Hook, fourth sergeant; Henry Hiett, fifth 
sergeant. Privates, Joseph Brill, J. T. Ruckman, S. H. 
Williams, Isaac Brill, W. P. Brill, Andrew Bowman, H. Brill, 
Mr. Bean, son of Aaron Bean; L. E. Brill, Lon Burch, 
Samuel Burch, L. P. Brill, Walker Saville, O. Bowman, 
Joseph Saville, Peter A. Saville, W. Garner, John W. 
Haines, James Haines, Bond Hook, Benjamin Hott, John 
Hott, David Hott, Edward Heare, Jasper Heare, Jonathan 
Heare, Velentine Kump, Amos Kump, Jonathan Lupton, ; 
James G. Lupton, George W. Maphas, Banjamin Monroe,, 
Jared McDonald, George W. McDonald, Rector Piles,, 
Hampton Peer, Peter Poland, William Poland, James Pep* 
per, J. J. Ruckman, John W. Ruckman, Velentine Ruck- 
man, Thomas Ruckman, Joseph Swisher, S. W. Swisher, 
Gibson Timbrook, Washington Walker, Jacob Em mart, 



STONEWALL JACKSON IN ROMNEY. 



589 



Courtney Garvin, G. W. Haines, Benjamin Heare, Benja- 
min Hott, S. J. Kump, W. B. Pepper, W. Pounall, J. W. 
Stump, Joseph Timberlake, G. Timberlake, William Hen- 
gleshee, S. H. Williams, Richard Poland, Joseph Pepper. 

McMd chin's Militia, — A company of militia, about 
eighty in number, was organized eafl}~ in the war under 
Thomas McMackin as captain, Joseph Berry, lieutenant, 
and Conrad Wilbert, second lieutenant. No roll of the 
company exists, but among- the members were Robert No- 
land, Henry C. Swisher, Adam Kay lor, William Ginevan, 
Peter Stump, Jacob Stump, John Stump, William Hass, 
Hugh Cowgill, James Saville, William Blaze, John Largent, 
William Sherwood, Luther Burkett, Kennison Bonham, 
George S. Arnold, Charles French, James I. Taylor, Thom- 
as Kaylur, Andrew Kaylor. This company was delegated 
to guard the district along North river, and was occupied 
with that work during the summer of 1861 and the early 
part of 1862. After about one year of service the company 
went to Winchester, where it disbanded. Some of the 
men joined other companies and some returned to their 
homes. 

A Sentinel' S Mistake. — Rising several hundred feet 
above the channel of North river is a rock jutting out from 
the summit of Ice mountain. McMackin's militia compa- 
ny's camp was near the river at the base of the mountain. 
It was the custom to place a sentinel on that pinnacle, 
which is called Raven Rock, at daybreak and keep him 
there all day. It was his duty to watch the surrounding 
country for the approach of enemies. From that elevated 
station the region for miles around lies in full view; and a 
sentinel with a good giass could easily discover troops ap- 
proaching* and could give the alarm in time for the militia 
in the camp below to prepare for action. The duty of 
standing guard on the pinnacle usually devolved upon H. 
L. Swisher; but on a certain day, which the militia had oc- 
casion long to remember, an inexperienced man was placed 



590 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



on the rocky watch tower, while the experienced sentinel^ 
accompanied by William Sherwood, went hunting-. The 
new man had not been long- on his elevated post when he 
saw an unusual object rising- over an eminence where one 
the country roads crossed a ridg-e in the direction of 
Springfield. He had not long to wait before he satisfied him- 
self that y anke e cavalry was approaching-. Down from the 
rocks he went to g-ive the alarm in the camp below where 
the rebels were whiling- away the time, unconscious of 
their dang-er. The startling- intelligence produced the 
greatest consternation. The militia had been waiting a 
long- time for a chance to fight the yankees, but they did 
not care to rush into the jaws of death by meeting- the ad- 
vancing- cavalry, which, as the sentinel declared, "made the 
road blue for miles." They accordingly rushed the other 
way. They broke camp double quick, abandoning- what 
they could not carry away, and up the road they went on a 
run, crossed the mountains and continued their retreat till 
they reached Sandy Ridg-e, several miles distant. Major 
Devers, who resides at the foot of Ice mountain, finally suc- 
ceed in rallying- them, and they made a stand. But the 
yankees never put in an appearance, and a .battle was 
averted. The yankees came suddenly upon William 
Sherwood and Henry Swisher, who were absent when the 
retreat beg-an, and took the former prisoner, but the latter 
made his escape. Great was the mortification of the con- 
federate militia when they learned that the federal cavalry 
which had "made the road blue for miles," consisted of 
only seven"' men. But these seven men had accomplished 
wonders. They had driven eig-hty militia and had burned 
a number of houses about North river mills, and then re- 
tired unpursued. 



CHAPTER Li 



ENLISTING COMPANIES. 

Below will be found a list of the officers and men in Com- 
pany I, Eighteenth Virginia Cavalry, in the confederate 
service. Nearly alj. the men were from Hampshire 
county: D. E. Beall, captain; Patrick McCarty, first lieu- 
tenant; Jacob Worden, second lieutenant; John Penning- 
ton, third lieutenant; John Horn, orderly sergeant; Joseph 
Godlove, second sergeant; Levy Crawford, third sergeant; 
William Wilson, fourth sergeant; Jonathan Tharp, cor- 
poral; John Sisler, second corporal; Benjamin Wilson, 
third corporal; Jacob Schafer, fourth corporal. Privates — ; 
David Godlove, Isaac Godlove, John A. Godlove, Abraham 
Ditawic, John Ditawic, Benjamin Ditawic, George Swisher, 
Benjamin Swisher, Simon Swisher, William Hishman, 
Philip Hishman, John Hishman, Nicholas Hishman, Noah 
Tunkhouser, James H. Tunkhouser, John Cline, Joseph 
Hetzel, John Wilson, Thomas B. Wilson, Tilberry Orn- 
doff, John W. Orndoff, Jacob Harris, David Harris, John 
Harris, William B. Cleg-get t, James Cleggett, Benjamin 
Liggett, Baker Liggett, Adam Tharp, James Tharp, 
George Rhodeheffer, Isaac Shoemaker, Jacob Orndorff, 
Hezekiah Williams, John Williams, Perry Williams, Jacob 
Williams, John Williams, Albert Halterman, Ambrose 
Halterman, Jackson Halterman, Morgan Halterman, Jos- 
eph Siple, George Siple, Watson Stover, Sylvester Stover, 
William Armstrong, Gibson Armstrong, Edward Arm- 
strong, Elias Cokenhour, Jacob Cokenhour, D. H. Knee, 
Cypress Tishwaters, Anthony Reid, Patrick McCormick, 
William Sisler, Charles M. Schnell, Jacob Rudolph, Charles 



592 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

Rosebrock, John Grady, Abraham Wilkins, James Mc- 
Mahon, John Lawrence, James Roach, Arthur Wells, Ma- 
lachi Hussey, William Varner, John Rankins, Perry Far- 
row, James Michaels, Jacob Michaels, John Rynwood, 
Abraham Barry, John Jones, William Finley, John T. Har- 
roll, Jacob Conrod, John Tyler, Benjamin McKeever, Sason 
Frye, William B. Eggleson, Jacob Ludwich, Joseph Snyder, 
George W. Stubblefield, Simeon Sandaker, Joseph Ham- 
mon. 

Captain Mathew Ginevaib's Company* — Com- 
pany C, Eighteenth Virginia Cavalry, confederate, was 
organized by Captain Mathew Ginevam, and the majority of 
the men were from the Levels and Little Capon. The roll 
of the company, as complete as it can be made out at the 
present time, is as follows: Mathew Ginevan, captain; S. 
B. Patterson, first lieutenant; D. K. Higby, second lieuten- 
ant; Luther Ginevan, third lieutenant; William Delaplain, 
first sergeant; A. T. Pugh, second sergeant; Frank Pow- 
nall, third sergeant. Privates — Valentine Gillespie, George- 
Bowman, James Flora, Thomas Youst, Peter Youst, Peter 
Barnes, S. F. Hardy, A. R. Eli, Ezra Eli, Silas Shanholtzer, 
Minor Shanholtzer, Martin Shanholtzer, Benjamin Shan- 
holtzer, John Robinson, R. T. Robinson, R. J. Householder, 
J. T. Pownall, F. Odnalt, Joseph McAtee, Willey McKee, 
Lewis Emmett, Samuel McKee, Isaac Pepper, John Ruck- 
man, B. J. Powell, Thomas Messick, James Cheshire, Fred- 
erick Manck, John O. Saville, George Saville, William 
Thompson, R. J. Thompson, S. E. Pugh, S. J. Pugh, J. J. 
Pugh, P. C. Haines, Samuel Baker. Captain Ginevan's 
company saw active service from the first. In the battle 
of Gettysburg he was severely wounded, and it is thought 
by some that he never fully recovered. He died at Pied- 
mont. David Ginevan was the miller at Ginevan mill, on 
Little Capon, two miles from the mouth; and when the 
company was made up he was excused from service in the 

army, according to law, that he might remain and grind 

40 v ,'• 



ENLISTING COMPANIES. 



593 



the people's grain. Lieutenant Luther Ginevan was a very 
strong- man, active and courageous. Once, when his brother, 
Captain Ginevan, was surrounded by four yarikees, who 
endeavored to take him prisoner, Luther ran in with his 
sword and compelled all four of them to beat a hasty re- 
treat. 

A Fighting Horse. — Luther Ginevan succeeded his 
brother as captain of the company. He had a remarkable 
horse, which he rode throughout the war. It soon learned 
to look upon a blue coat as an enemy, and it endeavored to 
do its share of fighting. This was particularly the case 
when, as happened on two or three occasions, the rider 
was dismounted and the f ederals tried to capture the horse. 
The animal bit, kicked and struck them and would not be 
taken, but fought its way back to the rebel lines and reached 
its owner. Captain Luther Ginevan brought the horse 
home with him at the close of the w T ar, and it was looked 
upon as long as it lived as a war-scarred veteran. Luther 
Ginevan was killed twenty years after the close of the war 
by being thrown from a wagon. 

Captain Lovet's Company. — This was Company 
E, Tw 7 enty-third Virginia Cavalry. It was organized in. 
Hampshire county, and the following is the roll, so far as 
it can be made out from the memory of survivors: Cap- 
tain, J. Mort Lovet; first lieutenant, Beverly Lockard; 
second lieutenant, Oscar Bywaters; third lieutenant, Wal- 
ter Larg-ent; first sergeant, Joseph Oliver, killed at Charles- 
town, 1863. Privates — Toney Hayden, killed at Darkville, 
1864; JohnStaller, killed at Bunker Hill, 1864; James Brath- 
waight, wounded at Berry's ferry, 1863; Samuel Swartz, 
wounded in 1864; J. W. Short, wounded in 1863; Walter 
Nixon, John Nixon, Harrison Brill, Frederick Spaid, Asa 
McKeever, Dorsey I^eed, George Pugh, Jonathan Pugb, 
George Elick, Hugh Pense, George Sheetz, Nicholas Goff, 
Berry Brine, William Newbanks, John Laire, David Laire, 



594 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



James Baker, Andre Baker, killed in 1864; John Baker, 
Tip Lockhard, Algerne Lockard, Daniel Miller. 

Captain Lovet was badly wounded in 1862, and never re- 
covered, although he lived a few years. In 1863 he was 
taken prisoner, and did not gain his freedom until the close 
of the war. Soon after returning- home he died from the 
effect of his w^ound and from hard treatment while in 
prison. 

Captain Sheetz's Company- — Following- is the roll 
of Company F, Seventh Virginia Cavalry:- Captains, George 
F. Sheetz, killed at Brickston station, May 23, 1862; Isaac 
Kuykendall, captured while on recruiting- service in Hamp- 
shire county, February 19, 1864; first lieutenant, Angus 
W. McDonald, resigned; second lieutenant, Georg-e H. 
Baker; first sergeant, John C. Leps; second serg-eant, J. 
H. Cunningham, captured at Moorefield, December 3, 1862; 
third serg-eant, Anthony Cain; fourth serg-eant, Charles 
W. Smoot; fifth serg-eants, G. F. Cunning-ham, captured at 
Moorefield, December 3, 1862; Georg-e Mat hi as; second 
corporal, D. W. Dawson, captured at Culpeper court house, 
September 13, 1863; third corporals, James D. Pollack, W. 
W. Houseworth; third and fourth corporal, Hiram Allen; 
first and second serg-eant, Johnson John. These all enlist- 
ed in 1861. The officers who enlisted in 1862 were: First 
and second lieutenant and fourth serg-eant, James T. 
Parker, captured while on detached service, February 21, 
1864; second lieutenant and second serg-eant, C. H. Van- 
diver, taken prisoner, April 19, 1862, and wounded, June 27, 
1864; first sergeant, A. C. Harness; first corporal, James 
A. Parrill. 

The following- privates enlisted in 1861: Elijah Allen, 
John S. Arnold, Eugene Alexander, Samuel Berry, James 
A. Bane, Levi M. Baker, James Bonney, M. B. Y. Bowers, J. 
S. P. Bowers, Jacob A. Baker, captured at Moorefield, De- 
cember 3, 1862; Henry F. Baker, John W. Baker, Thomas 
Chaney, Jesse Cupp, captured at Culpeper court house, 



ENLISTING COMPANIES. 



595 



September 13, 1863; J. H. C. Cunningham, William H. Ca- 
hill, wounded, April 9, 1862, arm broken; Joseph A. Cahill, 
George F. Cunning-ham, B. F. Clark, Reuben S. Davis, D. 
W. Dawson, Robert Dousthill, C. B. Davis, Robert Ed- 
war&s, William D. Ewing, George W. Everett, Samuel C. 
Engle, John B. Fay, James Gill, Thomas Gold borough, 
captured, December 25, 1863; Charles A. C. Gates, Jacob 
Gassman, William Grayson, C. H. Gates, A. C. Harness, 
Joseph Honmon, W. W. Houseworth, Samuel A. High, 
John F. High, W. B. Harrison, W. H. Harmon, taken pris- 
oner; T. A. Hollenback, James Hiett, Malcolm G. Harmi- 
son, Thomas Harrison, Thomas M. Heale^r, Samuel I. 
Heltzel, wounded, July 3, 1863; Jacob B. Heironimus, Jona- 
than Harrison, Isaac E. Harrison, James S. Hutton, J. S. 
Harlan, James Inskeep, died, May 24, 1862; William Y. 
Inskeep, wounded at Staunton, May 9, 1862; Elias L. Irv- 
ing, John S. Inskeep, captured in Hampshire; Isaac H. 
Johnson, died, June 13, 1862; John Johnson, Robert John- 
ston, wounded at Charlestown, October 6, 1862; J. W. Kuy- 
kendall, captured, January 15, 1862; John T. Kelley, cap- 
tured in Maryland, July 9, 1863; Patrick Kelley, wounded 
and captured, Jul} T 11, 1862; Joseph Kechley, captured at 
Culpeper court house, September 11, 1863; George A. 
Kechley, captured in Maryland, July 9, 1863; James F. 
Lease, John W. Lease, taken prisoner; George W. Lease, 
taken prisoner; William W. Leps, Isaac Liller, William L. 
Lamar, James C. Liggett, William Lyons, Joshua M. Lovett, 
Benjamin Milleson, Joseph L. Moore, Smith T. McKee, 
Harry C. Mitten, George Mathias, B. F. McCauley, Michael 
I. Mortz, Samuel Myers, Thomas O'Neal, Jonathan Offutt, 
James O'Brien, Daniel Power, William H. Parrie, James 
A. Parrie, James H. Parrie, John T. Pearce, John C. Par- 
ran, Silas R. Pancake, tTohn W. Pugh, James N. Pugh, R. 
C. Price, James H. Rines, wounded at Upperville, June 21, 
1863; John D. Rines, John F. Stover, Washington M. Skele- 
ton, Amos Shillingburg, James D. Short, Isaac Smit 



596 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Henry I. Sh river, captured, January 24, 1863; John H. 
Sh river, John Shaw, John M. Seymour, Frederick W. 
Sheetz, William Smith, C. H. Sisk, captured at Culpeper 
court house, September 13, 1863; Robert J. Tilden, arm 
broken in fig- lit at Romney, September 25, 1861; James H. 
Taylor, wounded near Charlestown, October 6, 1862; Bur- 
bridge C. Trenum, William W. Throckmorton, captured 
in Maryland, July 9, 1863; James H. Vamce, Charles W. 
Vanmeter, captured in Maryland, July 9, 1863; David P. 
V anmeter, captured in Maryland, July 9, 1863, R. B. Van- 
meter, Isaac Van meter, John W. Vanhorn, Charles F. 
Vest, captured in Hampshire county, February 21, 1864; 
J. W. Vawter, Martin F. Wrigiit, Jacob Worden, Robert 
W.Welch, Lewis Welch, James Worden, captured, No- 
1, 1862; William Worden, Aaron Welton, Patrick Dig-man, 
taken prisoner, November 1, 1862, and ag-ain in Hardy 
county, February 21, 1864; Thomas I. McCord, taken 
prisoner in Pennsylvania, July 6, 1863; J. D. Pollock, W. 
L. Parsons, Georg-e W. Shoemaker, captured at Moore- 
field, December 3, 1862; John Uullum, taken prisoner in 
Pennsvlvania, July 6, 1863; D. G. Vanmeter, wounded, July 
3, 1863; Joseph V. Williams, James S. Welton, captured at 
Culpeper court house, September 13, 1863; Charles I. 
Bowers, William I. Coyner, captured at Moorefield, October 
1, 1863; Maurice Healey, David Jones, captured at Cul- 
peper court house, September 13, 1863; James M. Maslin, 
J. Wesley Pug-h, Rufus Taylor, taken prisoner at Culpeper 
court hourse, September 13, 1863; Edwin P. Vanmeter, 
captured at Culpeper court house, September 13, 1863; 
James A. Zell, captured at the same time; Robert R. Zell, 
William H. Maslin, L. H. Davis, E. C. Rinehart, R. V. 
Sherrard, John Tyalor, Hilton Vanmeter, James W. W ood. 

Captain Kuyhenclall Captured — -While on 
picket duty near Charlestown, Jefferson county, the fed- 
erals being- in possession of Harper's Ferry, Captain 
Isaac Kuykendall was taken prisoner. A squad of a dozen 



ENLISTING COMPANIES. 



597 



or more confederate cavalry encountered a force too strong-, 
and set out upon a retreat, closely pursued. At the top of 
a hill Captain Kuykendall saw that he would be overtaken, 
and ordered a charge, hoping thereby to cause the pur- 
suers to halt and give him and his mesa a chance to get 
away. He wheeled his horse and started upon the charge, 
not observing until too late that his men were not follow- 
ing him. He went down the road alone, right toward the 
yankees, and would willingly have turned back if he could; 
but before he was able to check his horse, a bullet killed 
the animal, and he fell, throwing the rider and bruising 
his face on the macadamized road. He sprang to his feet, 
fired once with his pistol at the advancing federals, and 
then took to his heels up the road, while bullets from the 
yankee carbines made the dust fly about his feet. It g-rew 
too interesting for him in the highway, and lie sprang over 
a fence and started for a clump of trees some distance 
away. One of his men, who had failed to follow him on the 
charge, had ridden back and called to him to jump on the 
horse behind the saddle and both could escape. Kuyken- 
dall ran to the fence to do so, but observing that the horse 
was too small to carry two, he said to the man, "Make 
your escape. I will do the best I can." The man gal- 
loped off. 

Captain Kuykendall started again for the timber, but 
the chance of escape was past. The yankees called on 
him to surrender, and, seeing no other course open, he did 
so, and walked slowly back to the fence. Half a dozen of 
them reached for his watch, and, in spite of the pain of his 
bruised face and the unpleasant sensation of being a pris- 
oner, he laughed at the silly looks which came over the 
faces of the } r ankees as they examined the watch which 
they had so unceremoneously taken from him. When he 
fell from the horse, the jar broke the works of his watch 
loose, they fell out and he left them in the road. The 



598 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



covetous yankees, therefore, found themselves in posses- 
sion of an empty case. 

His face was bleeding- profusely, hut it was not hurt as 
badly as appearances indicated. The bruises were not 
deep. "You'd better leave the rebels and join my com- 
pany," were the first words addressed to him by the fed- 
eral captain when he came up. "I would rather be left 
dead in the road than to do it," was Kuykendall's reply. 
Pie was taken to Harper's Ferry, where he was treated 
with the greatest kindness by the officers, one of whom 
shared his room with the prisoner. The brave fight he 
had made before surrendering- had attracted the attention 
and won the favor of the officers. They supplied him with 
money with which to buy clothing-, of which he was badly 
in need. He was sent to Fort McHenry, near Baltimore, 
and after a few days he was exchang-ed. In speaking of 
his captivity, he said: "I found that all the g-ood men were 
not on our side. There were men among the yankees who 
were as whole-souled and brave as could be found any- 
where." 

Captain Kuykendall was taken prisoner a second time in 
1864, and was exchanged only a few weeks before Lee's 
surrender. He w T as in Hampshire on furloug-h, with John 
Inskeep, and they w T ere surrounded and captured while at 
Michael Blue's house, near Springfield. 

Captain Sauls Wounded— -While the Hampshire 

troops were stationed at Blue's g*ap, in 1861, a body of 
United States cavalry occupied Spring-field. Captain 
Sheetz, of Company F, ascertained that the federals were 
in motion toward North river mills, and made an attack on 
them. The yankees fell back toward Springfield and were 
pursued. Captain Sauls, in command of the Union cav- 
alry, w r as shot through the thigh, fell from his horse and 
was taken prisoner. He asked if Isaac Kuykendall was 
among the confederate force, and being answ T ered in the 
affirmative, asked to see him. When Captain Kuykendall 



ENLISTING COMPANIES. 



599 



came to him, Captain Sauls requested that a sled be ob- 
tained and he be taken to some house where he could be 
cared for till his men could send and get him. This re- 
quest was granted, and the wounded captain was taken 
care of. 

At that time Captain Kuykendall's father lived in 
Spring-field, and being a well-known sympathizer with the 
:south, he was subjected to no small annoyance from the 
union troops. When news reached Spring-field that the 
union force had been attacked and the captain wounded 
.and a prisoner, the federal troops in the town were furious, 
and declared they would burn Mr. Kuykendall's house in 
revenge; but before they carried their threat into execu- 
tion they received word from their wounded captain, who 
mentioned the kindness shown him by Isaac Kuykendall. 
Because of this kindness on the part of the son, the father's 
property was saved; another proof that a kindly act sel- 
dom falls on barren soil. 

A Dangerous Ambuscade. — Near P&rgatsville in 

1863, a fight occurred between parts of several companies 
of confederates on one side and the Ringgold cavalry on 
the other. The confederates were under the command of 
Captain Isaac Kuydendall of Company F. A portion of 
McNeill's company took part, and there were soldiers from 
other counties, Captain Ware f rom Virginia being among 
them. The confederates were in the vicinity of Moorefield 
when about thirty union cavalry appeared near Old Fields 
and halted when they saw the confederates. Colonel Har- 
ness ordered Captain Kuykendall to g*o in pursuit, and he 
at once did so with parts of several companies. McNeill 
joined in the pursuit after it had commenced. The feder- 
als began to move off when they saw the enemy approach- 
ing-, and passed up the road toward P&rgatsville. This 
road led to the head of Mill creek and down that stream to 
the lower country, and it was naturally supposed that the 



600 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



scouting- party was shaping its course for Ke jser or Cum- 
berland. 

Before the federals had been pursued far, Captain Kuy- 
kendall noticed something- mj^sterious in their movements. 
They did not appear trying- to g-et away, but kept just out 
of reach of their pursuers. When the confederates moved 
quickly, the federals increased their speed; when the 
former slackened, the latter did likewise. It was apparent 
that they were courting pursuit, and the captain suspected 
that their purpose was to lead him into an ambuscade. For 
this reason he advanced with great caution. At length 
some of the men grew impatient and clamored to be led to< 
the' charge. By tkis time McNeill had arrived and some 
of the men wanted him to lead. But Kuydendall remained 
in the front, and a general rush to overtake the yankees- 
easued. No order of march was observed. Up the road, 
pell mell, the confederates went, and the federals increased 
their speed. It was ]ust as the cooler heads expected. 
In a short time the rebels were going back as fast as they 
had corae. Turning- a point of a kill, beneath an old fields 
a long- line of blue burst in sight. It was an ambuscade. 
A strong force of federals poured a volley from the hill and 
threw the confederates into confusion. So great was the 
difference of numbers that Captain Kuykendall saw he had 
no show. The whole force saw the same, and they turned 
and fled. Fortunately for the confederates, the union lire- 
went over their heads. The order of a few minutes before 
was reversed. The confederates, instead of being the 
pursuers, were the pursued. Several were killed, but tke 
slaughter was not so great as might have been expected. 
Near the head of Mill creek a road led up the hill, and some 
of the men, by mistake, took that road. This mistake 
probabably saved many of the confederates, for their pur- 
suers were afraid to pass that road, believing that a trap 
had been set for them. Only a few passed; and two de- 
termined cavalrymen, with daring- which became fool- 



ENLISTING COMPANIES. 



601 



hardiness, pressed hard upon the rear of the retreating- 
confederates after the main body of the union forces had 
stopped. As these two cavalrymen approached, Captain 
Kuykendall shot at one of them, who then stopped; but 
it could not be ascertained that he was struck. The 
other g-alloped on, and being- mounted on a powerful horse, 
came up with Jesse Cupp, of Company F, and struck at 
him with his saber; but Cupp avoided the blow, and the 
soldier passed on. As he did so, Cupp struck him across- 
the back with his saber and Captain Kuykendall shot at 
him with a revolver. The union soldier wheeled his horse, 
left the road and made his escape. Whether he was dan- 
gerously wounded could not be ascertained. Isaac T. 
Brady, of Romney, was wounded in that fig-ht. 
General Aver ell Baffled —On February l, 1864, 

Geneal Rosser, with a strong- force, visited Patterson 
creek to buy cattle for the confederacy. He expected to 
meet with resistance, and therefore came prepared to 
fig-ht. But he had not calculated on fig-hting- Averell; and 
as the sequence showed, he had a narrow escape. Had 
Averell succeeded in meeting- him, there would have been 
an encounter of more consequence than a skirmish. Gen- 
eral Rosser passed down Patterson creek within eight 
miles of Keyser, where there w T as a union force, and ad- 
vanced within six miles of Cumberland. He kept a wary- 
eye on both of those points, but did not believe that a suffi- 
cient force could be sent from either of them to endang-er 
his position. He left a force at Burling-ton to prevent the 
federals from crossing- Knobly mountain from New creek,, 
and sent another force of seventy men, under Captain Isaac 
Kuykendall, to Mill creek g*ap, three miles above Romney, 
to hold that pass ag-ainst any force that mig-ht come from 
the south or east. Thus protected on both flanks, General 
Rosser proceeded to g-ather all the available stock on Pat- 
terson creek and Mill creek. 

Shortly after the confederates took possession of the 



602 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Mill creek gap, General Averell, with a strong- force of 
cavalry, passed through Romney, having- came from Win- 
chester to cut Rosser off, and attempted to enter the gap. 
Confederate pickets had been stationed on the rocks oyer- 
looking the pass, and with long-range guns they tired at 
the front of the union column when it came in sight. The 
pass is narrow, and a small force, well posted, could hold 
it against a much stronger one. Averell did not know how 
stroag the force was which opposed him, and he was ex- 
ceedingly cautious how he advanced. No sooner would he 
attempt to go through the gap than he was fired upon, and 
he as often fell back. In the meantime, a federal force 
crossed Knobly mountain from New creek, and passing 
down by way of Burlington met the Confederate force 
posted there, and the fight began. Several times the fed- 
erals advanced and as often they were driven back; but 
they gradually worked their way down, gaining more 
ground than they lost, and toward evening had pushed the 
confederates almost down to Moorefield junction, within 
four or five miles of Mill creek gap. Believing that he 
could not resist the federal advance from New creek 
much longer, the confederate o filer at Moorefield junction 
sent word to Captain Kuykendall, at Mill creek gap, and 
told him to save himself if he could. Not doubting that he 
was about to be cut off, Captain Kuykendall retreated by 
an obscure road up Mill creek, leaving the gap open for 
Averell. The confederates at Moorefield junction made a 
final rally and drove the federals back in the direction of 
New creek, and removed danger of an attack from that 
quarter. Averell did not know that Mill creek gap had 
been abandoned, and he made no attempt to pass through 
that night. Rosser was thus given the opportunity to 
-escape up Mill creek with his cattle, and he made his way 
with all speed back to Virg-inia. 



CHAPTER LII, 



, THE FRONTIER RIFLEMEN. 

Following- is a roll of the Frontier Riflemen, known also 
as Company I, Thirteenth Virginia Infantry: Captain, 
Robert White; first lieutenant, E. L. Irvin; second lieu- 
tenant, Job N. Cookus; third lieutenant, Daniel T. Keller; 
first serg-eant, Richard Roberson; second sergeant, H. B. 
Willis; third serg-eant, B. W. Armstrong-; fourth serg-eant, 
Robert J. Pug-h. Privates — James H. Atkins, A. F. 
Barnes, J. W. Bobo, M. V. Bobo, James Bonney, James E. 
Brown, Benjamin Brooks, Frederick Carder, Joseph F. 
Carder, Joseph Carder, Sanford Carder, Uriah Cheshire, 
Georg-e W. Cheshire, Newton Cheriw, John S. M. Combs, 
Jesse Chilcot, J. W. Davis, Alfred Doman, Tobias Doman, 
Thomas B. Em mart, Thomas Kelly, Granville F riddle, 
John Greitzner, Thomas Gulick, W. H. Gerrard, William 
H. Hig-h, Andrew Hines, John W. Hannas, William Hicke"^ 
C. Hott, Benjamin Haines, A. J. Kreemer, Thomas Keely, 
J. N. Lewis, M. Lewis, William Loy, AY. Loy, Samuel Lo} r , 
John Loy, J. W. Loy, Solomon Lopp, W. H. Ludwick, E. 
Liller, Samuel Mobler, Samuel McCauley, Arthur Mc- 
Cauley, Walter McAfee, Joseph Nixon, J. Nealis, H. H. 
OrndorfT, W. T. Parker, V. M. Poling-, T. S. Poling-, Jos- 
eph S. Poland, William Pownell, Absalom Pownell, W. S. 
Purg-ett, Jacob Powelson, Michael Randall, Joel Roberson, 
G. W. Ruckman, Alonzo Shawen, Christopher Shanholtzer, 
W. F. Sheetz, James Starnes, Frank Shingleton, Thomas 
Scanlin, Stephen Swisher, Perry Saville, Gibson Timbrook, 
Hiram Terry, J. B. Trenton, John Thompson, Edward 



604 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



"Whiteman, J. L. Wilson, H. A. Wilson. Musicians — Levi 
Carder, G. McNemar, L. Johnson. 

This company was organized in 1860, after the John Brown 
raid, with Robert White captain, Elias L. Irvin first lieu- 
tenant, Job N. Cookus second lieutenant and Daniel T. 
Keller third lieutenant. On May 18, 1861, by order of 
Governor Letcher, the company reported to Colonel T. J. 
Jackson (Stonewall), then commanding- at Harper's Ferry. 
While there the company voted on the ordinance of seces- 
sion, there being' seven votes against it. The company 
was placed in the Fourth Regiment, under Colonel A. P. 
Hill, and w T as designated as Company I. It being found 
that there were two Fourth Regiments, this one was 
changed to Thirteenth. While at Harper's Ferry the 
first death occurred in the company, Henry Wilson, but it 
was by no means the last death, for this company was al- 
most totally destroyed before the close of the war. 

The First Fight. — Active service soon commenced. 
Colonel Hill, with the Thirteenth and Tenth Virginia and 
Third Tennessee Regiments, marched to Romney in June, 
1861, and a detachment, consisting of Companies I and K 
and the Third Tennessee, was sent to New creek to de- 
stroy railroad bridges. The bridges were burned, and a 
skirmish occurred with the Cumberland home guards, in 
which the guards were defeated, with the loss of two, small 
cannon, which fell into the hands of the confederates. 
These were the first trophies of war. Colonel Hill marched 
to Winchester, and Company I was soon in the command 
of General Joseph Johnston, who was falling back from 
Harper's Ferry. After a few days General Johnston 
eluded and deceived General Patterson, of the union army, 
and slipped away to Manassas in time to turn the tide of 
battle (July 21) from apparent defeat to certain victory* 
Company I did not take part in the battle, having been 
posted on the right to guard a ford. After the battle the 
Thirteenth Regiment did picket .duty in the vicinity of 



THE FRONTIER RIFLEMEN. 



605 



Alexandria. John Bobo died of fever at this camp, and 
Thomas Scanlon was accidentally shot in the foot. In the 
autumn of 1861 the army moved to Manassas, and here 
Thomas Kelly and Samuel McCauley died in the hospital. 
Captain White and Lieutenant Irvin resigned January, 
1862, and left the army. Johnston's army moved from 
Manassas'in the spring- of 1862, and General Ewell's divis- 
ion, to which the Thirteenth Regiment belonged, was sta- 
tioned on the Rappahannock river, and afterward fell back 
to Gordons ville. 

The confederate army was here reorganized. The time 
of enlistment of many of the men had expired; but the 
confederate congress having passed the conscript act, it 
compelled the men to remain in the commands where they 
then were. Many of the men felt themselves much ag- 
grieved at this, as they had volunteered, and they thought 
they should be allowed to choose the arm of the service in 
which they would fight. Company I reorganized by elect- 
ing Job N. Cookus captain, Abraham Smith first lieutenant, 
James Moorehead second lieutenant and Abraham Barnes 
third lieutenant. The division to which this company be- 
longed moved from Gordonsville to Swift run g*ap, Jack- 
son's old camp, facing Banks' army at Harrisonburg-, in 
the valley of Virginia. In all the fighting which followed, 
Company I did its full share. General Banks was forced 
out of the valley, with great loss of stores, artillery and 
prisoners. But General Fremont and General Shields 
coming upon the scene, there was continued and heavy 
fighting. The confederates gained a victory at Cross 
Keys. This was the first real battle taken part in by 
Company I, although it had seen much service. After the 
battle at Cross Keys, the division to which Company I be- 
longed crossed the south fork of the Shenandoah and 
helped Jackson, who was fighting Shields. The federals 
had a strong position. A brigade of Ewell's division and a 
regimentof Jackson's took a battery of six pieces on Shields' 



606 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



left, which proved to be the key to the field and decided 
the battle in favor of the confederates. The victory did 
not come too soon for them, for their army was completely 
exhausted, and it was with great difficulty that a pursuit 
of five miles was made, many of the men falling- by the 
roadside. They had fought two days without a mouthful 
to eat. 

Adventures of Boiiey Lay.— Among- the well- 
known members of Company I was William B. Loy, nick- 
named "Boney," who passed through many dangers and 
lived to see peace restored. He returned to Hampshire 
and proved by his life that the bravest in war are the best 
citizens in peace. He was of small statue, but of iron con- 
stitution, capable of enduring- excessive fatigue; taking- 
part in the hardest marches, the severest battles, and al- 
ways at his post. In the battle above mentioned he had a 
long-, hard time of it. When the fight was over he wrapped 
himself in a new rubber blanket and lay down among the 
dead and dying, and was soon asleep. During the night 
some stragglers who were robbing- the dead, found him, 
and supposing him dead also, rolled him over, pulled his 
blanket out and began to fold it up. But Loy awoke and 
soon convinced the thief that he had tackled a very lively 
corpse. The straggler turned away, remarking, "take 
your old blanket; I thought you were dead." Loy wrapped 
the blanket about him and again lay down to sleep. When 
he awoke in the morning he found that his gun and boots 
had been stolen. Unarmed and barefooted he started out 
to forage, and soon found a rusty gun, which he took; but 
he was not so fortunate in procuring coverings for his 
feet, which were so small that he was hard to fit. But, 
finally he found a yankee with boots about the right size, 
and he proceeded to pull them off. He received a kick in 
the stomach from the yankee whom he had supposed dead, 
and the rebuke: "What are you about! Can't you let a man 
die in peace! Can't you wait till he is dead before you rob 



THE FRONTIER RIFLEMEN. 



607 



him!" As Mr. Loy had no intention of robbing- a wounded 
soldier, he let go the boot with many apologies and mored 
off. He found no other boots of the proper size, and re- 
turned to camp barefooted. It was not long- after that that 
Banks' commissary stores were captured by the rebels,, 
and Boney Loy had the pick of several hundred cases of 
yankee boots, and succeeded in finding- a pair to fit him 
exactly. 

Death of George Cheshire. — After the battle of 
Port Republic, many of the members of Company I joined 
the cavalry and did g-ood service; others left and went 
home to remain. After a rest of a few days, Company I, 
now reduced in numbers, was sent to Richmond to defend 
the capital of the Southern Confederacy against McClellan. 
On June 27, 1862, when the company found itself on Mc- 
Clellan's rig-ht at Coal Harbor it had only eighteen men, 
including- two conscripts. Although General Lee had 
forced General McClellan from his fortifications, his new 
position was a very strong- one. In the battle which fol- 
lowed, Company I passed through many dangerous places. 
It had to cross a swamp hip-deep to attack the enemy's in- 
fantry posted on an eminence. The confederates were 
unmercifully raked by the artillery fire. The survivors of 
the terrible battle tell of the g-allant manner in which Ser- 
g-eant George W. Cheshire met his death. He is looked 
upon as one of the bravest of the one hundred and twenty- 
two Hampshire men who gave their lives in the cause of 
the South. He was killed near Richmond. The battle 
had rag-ed with almost unprecedented fury, and seven en- 
sig-ns had fallen. Cheshire seized the colors of his regi- 
ment and led the charge, calling- to his comrades to follow. 
He held the flag- until the staff was shot off in three places. 
It looked like a rush into the jaws of death, but they 
pressed forward. Cheshire fell, but the men who had fol- 
lowed him met the enemy and forced them back. The 
governor of Virginia made a special report on the gallantry 



60S 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 



of the young- Hampshire officer, and his name stands re- 
corded in history. The flag-, cut into ribbons by bullets 
was sent to Governor Letcher, who returned a new flag-, 
remarking- that the old one "was battle worn and bullet 
torn, and bathed in the blood of the gallant Cheshire." 
George Ruck man, another brave man of the company, fell 
in this battle, as did also one of the conscripts. Frank 
Singleton of Delaware, who had joined the company, Boney 
Loy and the other conscript were badly wounded. 

Boney carried a Mississippi rifle which soon became foul. 
He was in the thick of the fig-lit and had fired until he could 
not ram another bullet down. His g-usL w T as choked, and 
at that critical moment a retreat was ordered. Just then 
a bullet struck him in the thig-h. It roused his ire and he 
turned upon the advancing- yankees and putting- his ram- 
rod against a tree, tried to push the bullet down, and in 
the endeavor his ramrod became fast in the barrel. He 
raised his g'in, fired ramrod and all at the enemy, and 
turned to run. A bullet struck ' his knapsack, passed 
through it and lodged in his clothing- withoutjiurting- him. 
But another ball struck him a moment later and passed 
throng- h his lung's. He dropped his g*un, but continued 
running- until he overtook his comrades. V. M. Poling 
asked him if he had been wounded, to whick Loy replied 

with more vehemence than piety: "No, , I'm killed." 

His w r ounds, however, were not fatal, and after several 
months in the hospital he was back in his regiment, and 
ready for more fig-hting-. 

In this battle Joel Roberson was so severelv wounded 
that he was unable to perform service in the infantry, but 
as soon as he had sufficiently recovered he joined the cav- 
alry. He was a good soldier, and was liked by all who 
knew him. B. W. Armstrong-, a man of superior educa- 
tion, died of a fever in Aug-ust, 1861. He was in every w T ay 
a g-entleman. 

The company took part in the battles of Malvern Hill, 

41 




1. DR. J. W. SHULL. 2. T. G. POWNALL. 

3. HOWARD L. SWISHER. 4. V. M. POLING, 

ON FURLOUGH IN RICHMOND, 1864. 



THE FRONTIER RIFLEMEN. 



609 



Charles City and Cedar Mountain; at the latter place Sam- 
uel Mohler and V. M. Poling- were wounded, Mohler badly 
in the foot, Poling- slightly in the side. His capbox saved 
him. This company took an active part in the second bat- 
tle of Bull Run, and followed Eee and Jackson through the 
Maryland campaign, culminating- at Antietam. At the 
second battle of Bull Run the company. went with Jackson 
in his flank movement around Pope. All the confederate 
wagons were left behind to make better speed, and tne 
only rations issued to the men were four roasting ears 
each per day. But when they camped near cornfields they 
helped themselves. However, they succeeded in capturing 
Pope's supply train and were then told to help themselves, 
which they did with an unspairing hand. Each man took 
all he could carry. On the retreat from Antietam the 
soldiers waded the Potomac. The water came to their 
cartridge boxes. Stonewall Jackson sat on his horse in the 
middle of the river encouraging his men. The soldiers 
cheered him as they struggled by, through the swift water, 
and he sat with his hat off, in a beating- rain. The field of 
action for Company I changed to Fredericksburg. At this 
place the yankee and rebel pickets on the Rappahannock 
traded tobacco and coffee. The rebels on one side of the 
river put a sail on a plank, tied their tobacco to the staff, and 
the wind would carry the frail bark to the other side. The 
yankees took the tobacco and sent coffee back in exchange 
for it. The sail was changed each time so as to carry the 
boat straight across. This trading was kept up till the 
yankees moved their pickets back. 

Death of Lieutenant Morehead—In the spring 
of 1863 General Hooker left Sedgwick's corps at Freder- 
icksburg and he crossed to Chancellorsville. Company I 
was left, in Early's division, to watch Sedgwick. In a bat- 
tle at that place the thirteenth regiment was sent forward 
alone to attack a hill as a feint. The soldiers charged and 
took it three times; but on the top of the hill the regiment 



t 



610 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

encountered two lines of battle, and was forced to fall back,. 
At this place Lieutenant James Morehead met his death. 
His last words were, "They are running! Come on, boys!'* 
He was a gallant officer, and was very popular with the 
men. The soldiers procured boards from a barn, made 
him a coffin, and buried him. Captain Smith offered a- 
prayer, while shells were falling- and exploding- on all sides. 
The company lost other valuable men in this charge. 
Samuel Loy was mortally wounded and died in a few days. 
Richard Roberson, Saaford Carder and Joseph Carder 
were badly wounded. During the retreat from the hill, 
hotly pursued by federals, Boney Loy aisd V. M. Poling-, 
afterwards clerk of the Hampshire circuit court, were 
fighting the best they could to cover the retreat, when they 
were so hard pressed that they were compelled to conceal 
themselves in a deep gulley, while the yankees took pos- 
session of other g'ullies near by, and made a stand, not 
knowing- that rebels were in an adjoining- g"ully. The con- 
federate troops rallied, and for some time there was the 
prospect of a sharp fight over the heads of Poling- and I^oy, 
but they were not uneasy on that score, as they could lie 
low and escape the bullets, but they did not feel comforta- 
ble when they considered the result if the yankees should 
see them and use the bayonet. They could hear the 
yankees talking- near them, but did not dare raise their 
heads for fear of discovery. They thus hugged the bottom 
of the gully for hours. About five o'clock in the afternoon 
they heard a noise like the Sight of a drove of pigeons, and a 
moment later saw that the rebel infantry were charging. 
The peculiar noise was made by soldiers running through 
the grass. General Gordon was making the charge. He 
drove the federals back and the men emerged from the 
gully and rejoined their comrades. 

Company I, now reduced to a few men, was transferred 
to Winchester and took part in the battle with Milroy, 
which resulted in forcing him to retreat down the valley 



THE FRONTIER RIFLEMEN. 



611 



■with heavy loss. The thirteenth regiment was left at 
Winchester to. guard military stores, and thus missed 
Gettysburg-. The compaii}^ moved east of the Blue Ridge 
after the Gettysburg- campaign, and spent the winter on 
the Rappahamiock, 1863-4. At that time the confederate 
states were hard pressed for food and clothing', and the 
soldiers were on short rations, one day three-quarters of 
a pound of beef and no bread; next day they would get 
Hour and no meat; then rice for one day, and no salt at any 
time. In February a detachment was sent to the Rappa- 
hannock to catch fish. They lived without salt or flour. 
They cooked their fish in various ways to see if some sort 
of flavor could not be given them; but a fish without salt is 
not good, no matter how it is cooked. In the spring- cf 
1864 the confederate army commenced fighting Grant in 
the Wilderness. A member of Company I expressed in 
these words a truth which no doubt was clearly seen by 
many at the time: "After we had foug-ht Grant a few days 
in the Wilderness, there was not an officer, nor an intelli- 
gent soldier, in our army who did not realize that the 
Southern Confederacy was doomed. But we foug-ht on, 
hoping- ag-ainst hope that something- would happen that 
would save us; some foreign power might help us; or some 
other assitance come from some quarter," On Mav5 Com- 
pany I was reduced to nine men, in ranks, and the captain, 
as follows: Captain Abraham Smith, R. J. Pugh, Richard 
Roberson, William Loy, W. Loy, William Sheetz, Samuel 
Mohler, Joseph Carder, Uriah Cheshire and V. M. Poling. 
The company was in the battle of Spottsylvania Court 
House in May, 1864. B. M. Haines had been detached 
with the signal corps. 

The BroheiV Line. — At that battle there was desper- 
ate fighting. Grant was pressing Lee hard at every point. 
One foggy morning General Hancock led a charge which 
broke Lee's line. The confederates at that place had built 
fortifications in the shape of V with the point to the en- 



612 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



erny. Company I was in the works on the left. Hancock 
came through on the right, and his victorious soldiers were 
sweeping- everything- before them and threatening- to g-ain 
possession of the road to Richmond. It was a moment of 
extreme danger for Lee's army, and that great general 
saw it. Unless the federals could be checked and driven 
back, Richmond must fall. The confederates from the 
left were countermarched on the double-quick across the 
open space to get in front of the federals. Bullets and 
grape fell like rain. Boney Loy fell, shot through the leg, 
and was left on the field, while the rebels hurried on, and 
after running half a mile found themselves in front of the 
Yankees. It was at this critical moment that General Lee 
appeared on the scene. He saw that everything depended 
upon checking the federal advance. It is believed to be 
the only instance during the war in which General Lee 
offered to lead a charge, and it is worthy of note, to the 
honor of Hampshire, that this old county furnished its 
share of the soldiers which Lee w T as to lead on that momen- 
tuous occasion, the most critical, perhaps, in the whole 
war. No one had noticed the general as he came up. He 
suddenly appeared at the head of the thirteenth regiment, 
with his hat off and smiling, but did not say a word. He 
looked at the men and they understood that he was ready 
to lead the charge. General Gordon came up at the 
moment and exclaimed: "I will lead these Virginians; 
General Lee, go to the rear!" At once every man saw 
General Lee's danger, and called as with one voice: ''Gen- 
eral Lee. to the rear." Richard Rob er son of Company I, 
caught Lee's horse by the bridle and turned him around. 
By that time several of Lee's staff officers came up. Gen- 
eral Gordon then turned to the men and said: "Virginians, 
you have never failed before, and I know you will not fail 
today. Forward. Follow me." 

The battle that day, to recover the lost ground, can be 
fittingly compared to the charge of Ney at Waterloo. It was 



THE FRONTIER RIFLEMEN. 



613 



a stubborn, hand-to-hand fig- lit, in which the finest troops of 
the South were pitted against the veterans of the North. 
The soldiers on both sides knew what war was. They had 
learned the trade on many a^ field, and they were now to 
fight inch by inch for the mastery of the captured works. 
For a long* time it was a doubtful contest; but inch by inch 
the confederates pushed the union troops back, and finally 
recaptured the lost works which General Edward Johnson, 
with Stonewall Jackson's old division, had lost that morn- 
ing-. But the battle for the mastery did not end there. 
Three times the federals tried to retake the works, but 
were three times repulsed. Other brigades claim the 
honor of being- the troops which General -Lee offered to 
lead; and it is not impossible that he did offer to lead other 
origades at other times; but it was surely the brigade in 
which Hampshire's Company I, thirteenth Virginia in- 
fantry fought, which Lee offered to lead at Spottsylvania 
Court House, May 12, 1864. Jones, in his memoirs of Lee, 
says he asked General Lee what brigade it was which he 
offered to lead, and that Lee answered: "General Gordon 
was the officer. 5 ' General Gordon could settle the contro- 
versy as to the brigade, if he would, and it is due the 
brave men who followed him, and to the cause of history, 
that he speak on the subject. 

Rain fell all night following the battle. The confederate 
soldiers slept sitting, with their backs against the breast- 
works and gum blankets over their heads and guns. There 
was thunder and bright lightning, which served to keep 
up the battle. The federals had taken up a position in a 
pine thicket about fifty yards in front of the confederate 
works, and they kept up such a constant firing that no one 
could show his head without dang-er of having it shot off. 
A dead union soldier lay a few yards below the breast- 
works, between the federal and confederate lines. He 
had a ring on his finger, and several attempts to get it 
failed. As soon as a confederate attempted to crawl down, 



614 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



the yankees in the pines fired at him. At length Samuel 
Mohler, of Company I, watched his chances, between 
flashes of lightning - , and crawled down and . got the ring. 
He did not care for the value of the ring, but wished to 
exhibit his recklessness. Bone) r Loy, who was wounded 
in the charge, was taken prisoner and carried to a federal 
hospital near by. A few days later the confederates cap- 
tured the hospital, and Loy climbed on a horse, behind one 
of the cavalrymen, and rode back to the camp. His wound 
in the leg rendered it necessary for him to spend some 
time in a hospital. He was then granted a furlough, and 
lie set out for home. On the way he fell in with some 
troops under General Early, just as the fight at Fisher's 
Hill commenced. He took part in the battle; then pro- 
ceeded to his home in Hampshire. 

Death of Captain Smith. — The next day after 
retaking the works at Spottsylvania Court House, General 
Lee moved his line back half a mile. Company I was sent 
with Swell's corps to make an attack on Grant's forces, 
seven miles distant. In the attack Captain Smith was shot 
through the lungs. He fell near V. M. Poling, and said: 
"Tell my wife my first thought, when I fell, was of her, 
my God and my country. I believe our cause is just, and 
I have given my life for it." That night the soldiers of his 
country carried him seven miles back to Lee's lines, there 
being no ambulance in which to send him. He died m the 
hospital seven days later. There were only seven of 
Company I left. On May 21 this company moved to Han- 
over Court House, where a charge by the brigade to which 
Company I belonged was ordered, to take a battery of six 
pieces. The charge was across an open field, without sup- 
port. It was a disastrous undertaking, and unsuccessful. 
The federal position could not be taken, and the confeder- 
ates were forced to retreat, with heavy loss of ofiicers as 
well as men. The retreat was more fatal than the ad- 
vance. Of the four hundred who went into the charge, 



THE FRONTIER RIFLEMEN. 



615 



-eight-one were left on the field. Company I suffered as 
usual. Joseph Carder lost his foot and R. J. Pug-h was 
shot in the leg-. It w T as an uncalled-for sacrifice of life. 
Pug-h was a good fellow, liked by all. He died in Romney 
a few years ago. This left only five men in Company I, 
and the company lost its identity. It had not enough men 
left to elect officers. It had entered the army at the be- 
ginning- of the war with eighty-six officers and men. On 
.May 21, 1854, it bad not an officer and only live men. It 
mig-ht be supposed that further history of the company 
would be unnecessaiw; but there were five brave men left, 
and it is proper to follow them through their vicissitudes 
of fortune till the close of the war. These five, not having 
an organization any longer as a company, joined the sharp- 
shooters under Lieutenant Stringfellow. Each regiment, 
at that time, had twenty picked men as sharpshooters, 
under a lieutenant, and the wmole division w T as organized 
and was commanded by a major. It was the duty of the 
sharpshooters to be in front in an advance and in the rear 
in retreat, creeping or running from shelter to shelter, 
always on the lookout for a good shot. Of course, the 
sharpshooters of the enemy were doing the same. 

The Coffee Spoiled. — William Loy was one of the 
sharpshooters who had belonged to Company I. During a 
skirmish one day he thought he would snatch a few min- 
utes and make a cup of coffee. He built a fire behind a 
rail pile and set his cup on. The truth is, it was cane 
seed, but he was playing that it was coffee. The cup was 
beginning to simmer, and Loy was blowing the coals to 
expedite matters when a yankee sharpshooter, with plenty 
of nerve, shot at him and sent a bullet through the cup of 
coffee. Loy exclaimed : "Drat that yankee ! He spoiled 
my cup." The sharpshooters would climb trees, or old 
chimneys, or houseroofs to get a good shot. On one occa- 
sion V. M. Poling was at the gable window of a deserted 
house when Major Daniel, of General Early's staff, went 



616 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



up to use his field glass. A yankee sharpshooter sent a. 
bullet into the loft near their heads, through a feather bed, 
scattering- feathers over the room. The major remarked 
that he had seen all there was to see, and departed. It 
has often been remarked that wounds received while fight- 
ing- sharpshooters are nearly always severe, because 
sharpshooters aim at vital parts and are excellent marks- 
men. On the day before the second battle of Cold Harbor 
Samuel Mohler was shot through the brain and killed. 
This left only four men of Company I. In the fight Gen- 
eral Hunter was forced back toward Salem. The confed- 
erate army moved down the valley to Maryland, fighting- 
much of the way; advanced within a few miles of Wash- 
ington; then up the valley; again down the valley to 
Charlestown. In all this marching there was scarcely a 
day on which the sharpshpoters were not fighting-. One 
night they captured thirty-one cavalrymen behind a stone 
fence in the edge of Winchester. The yankee lieutenant 
asked where "Winchester was, he being badly bewildered. 
Although the sharpshooters made the capture, Gilmor's 
Marylanders got the cavalrymen's horses. 

General Mulligan Killed.— -General Mulligan, a 
brave federal officer, was killed near Kernstown. He had 
the respect of friend and foe. When he was in command 
at Keyser, Moorefield and Petersburg he had many oppor- 
tunities to show kindness to captured confederates, and he 
always did so. Those who killed him did not know who he 
was until too late, and they regretted what they had done, 
although they did it while discharging their duty as sharp- 
shooters in line of battle. Seven of them, William Lo}^,W. 
F. Sheetz and Joel Roberson being- of the number, crawled 
two hundred yards down a ditch and reached a point from 
which they could see General Mulligan and his staff. All 
seven fired at one time, and the general was killed and one 
of his staff was wounded. 

Charlestown Captured— -While General Early 



THE FRONTIER RIFLEMEN. 



617 



was in the vicinity of Charlestown that place was taken by 
seven sharpshooters, four of them being- the remnant of 
old Company I, William Loy, Joel Roberson, V. M. Poling 
and W. F. Sheetz. The exploit was somewhat remarkable. 
The sharpshooters had forced back the federal skirmish- 
ers toward the town, and supposing- they had passed 
through the village, followed after them. When the squad 
of seven confederate sharpshooters reached a small bridge 
in the suburbs of the town they were surprised to find 
that they had run into a squad of cavalry not thirty yards- 
distant. Luckily for the sharpshooters, the yankees were 
still more surprised, and ran without firing- a shot. The 
sharpshooters fired and killed the federal captain and two 
of his men. The cavalry took refuge in town, and the 
sharpshooters followed. For an hour the fight continued, 
the seven confederate taking- the place house by house and 
street by street, fighting in back yards, running over 
porches, and all the while the women were waving their 
handkerchiefs from windows and cheering. Finally the 
yankees were driven out. 

In the fight at Winchester, September 19, 1864, General 
Early was forced to retreat before General Sheridan. The 
battle w 7 as a hard one and the sharpshooters had little rest. 
William Loy was wounded and taken prisoner. He was 
one of the toughest soldiers in the service, never giving* 
out on the hardest march. This left three of old Company 
I. Sheetz was wounded in the arm by a spent ball. He 
had the remarkable record of never missing a battle during 
the war, up to that time, in which his regiment was en- 
gaged. After living through the war, he was killed on the 
railroad a few r years ago. When Sheetz was wounded it 
left only two men of the eighty-six who went into the 
company at the beginning of the war. They were V. M- 
Poling and Joel Roberson. These two entered the battle 
of Fisher's Hill, where General Early's veterans became 
stampeded from some unknown and unaccountable reason,. 



618 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



and there was a disgraceful route. The two sharpshoot- 
ers, Poling* and Roberson, were doing what they could, in 
company with other sharpshooters, to save the day, when 
Poling was wounded. He became very sick and wanted 
to be left on the field. But his comrade, Roberson, would 
not desert him. They had fought many a day and many 
a night side by side; they had shared victory and defeat; 
and now, w T hen only one of that company of eighty-six was 
left, he was not the man to abandon a comrade to the en- 
emy. So he carried Poling off the field, put him in an am- 
munition wag-on and landed him safely m Harrisonburg, 
^where he was placed in the hospital. The union troops 
captured the hospital and Poling was a prisoner. How- 
ever he was not sent to prison. After a few days he was 
exchanged and was sent to Hampshire on furlough, and he 
was there taken care of by James C. Poland and his wife 
and daughter. As sooa as Poling could walk he went to 
his home in Romney, and on March, 1865, was taken pris- 
oner by a scouting party from Martinsburg. They took 
him to Garrett I. Blue's, where they stopped for the night, 
the river being too deep to be crossed. About three o'clock 
next morning Poling ran out at the door and escaped, tak- 
ing one of the yankee's guns with him, but left his own 
revolver and hat. He did not consider it a good trade, but 
it was the best he could do at the time. He and others 
surrendered in Cumberland soon after the surrender of 
Lee. During the last year of the war he had no clothing 
except what was made for him and sent to him by his sis- 
ters. The confederacy w T as unable to supply clothes for 
its soldiers. Mr. Poling-'s portrait in this book shows him 
in a suit of uniform sent him from home. 

The Last Man. — It is in order that the history of 
i;he old company be followed to the end, and until the last 
man disappears from the scene. When Poling went home 
wounded, Roberson was the only one left in active service. 
But Sheetz recovered from his wound and went back and 



THE FRONTIER RIFLEMEN. 



619 



took his place in the line of sharpshooters. At the battle 
-of Bell Grove, near Strasburg, Sheetz and Roberson were 
trying- to hold a bridg-e and prevent the federal cavalry 
from crossing*. They said that one hundred men could 
have held the bridge and could have saved Early's artil- 
lery and wagons. But the necessary one hundred men 
were not there. The cavalry charged across the bridg-e 
and took Sheetz prisoner. Roberson tried to escape by 
climbing* a steep bank of solid limestone, where the pike 
cuts throug-h at the south end of the bridg-e. Before he 
could climb the rocks a yankee cavalryman was upon him 
striking- at him with his sabre. Roberson was compelled 
to turn and fight. Neither had his gun loaded. Roberson 
would strike the horse, causing him to wheel; then he 
would attempt to climb the rocks; but before he could do 
so the cavalryman would be striking at him again. This 
was kept up until Roberson was about worn out. The 
yankee seemed determined to kill him, and did not offer 
him a chance to surrender. At length an officer came up 
and took Roberson prisoner. He and Sheetz remained in 
-prison till the close of the war. But old Company I was 
not yet to pass out of active service. When Sheetz and 
JRoberson surrendered, not one man was left; but in a day 
or two Uriah Cheshire had recovered from his wound and 
came back. He was the only man in ranks when Lee sur- 
rendered at Appomattox, and he there laid down his gun. 
James Starnes, Hiram Terry and Joseph Poland were 
teamsters during the entire war, and were faithful to their 
duty. Benjamin Brooks was an*ambulance driver. All 
were included in Lee's surrender. 

"When these heads are white with glory, 

When the shadows from the west 
Lengthen as you tell the story 
In the veteran's ward of rest, 

May no ingrate's word of sneering 



620 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Reach one heart of all the brave, 
But may honor, praise and cheering" 
Guard old valor to the grave." 

Unm atericilizerl Bonds.— In 1864 the confederate 
government concluded to be generous with the veterans 
who had volunteered in the service, and congress at Rich- 
mond passed an act giving- each veteran a bond for one 
hundred dollars. The few men still serving in the ranks 
of the Frontier Riflemen were called out in line and each 
was promised the bond as a present. They never received 
them. It was afterwads ascertained, or was so reported 
in the army, that the employes in the government 
printing office at Richmond were given all the bonds 
they could print after five o'clock each evening, as their 
pay for working the rest of the day for the government. 

It was customary in winter to give ten days' furlough 
to two men at a time from each company. The young sol- 
diers usually gave way to the married men who could thus 
visit their families. Those on furlough, if .they remained 
in Richmond, had expenses to pay. Board at the hotels 
was fifty dollars a day in January, 1864; flour, one hundred 
and fifty dollars a barrel; oysters one dollar a dish; whis- 
key two dollars a thimbleful. As the soldiers received 
only twelve dollars a month they could not afford to go on 
furlough very often. The soldiers in camp were very 
often starved nearly to death, and when they obtained a 
supply of food their appetite was so ravenous that they 
ate to excess. After the battle at Port Republic, two 
days' rations were issued to the men. Some of the sol- 
diers cooked and ate the whole at one sitting. Two 
brothers, in addition to the two days' rations, bought from 
a butcher a beef's liver weighing twelve pounds. They 
boiled this and ate the whole of it. They lay down and 
slept, never expecting to wake; but no harm came of their 
enormous meal. 



CHAPTER LIIL 

3>0« 

OTHERS TAKING THE FIELD, 

Following- is a list of the members of the Hampshire 
Guards, afterwards Company K: Captain, J. B. Sherrard; 
first lieutenant, D. Vv T . Entler; second llieutenant, Felix D. 
Heiskell; first serg-eant, William V. Herriott; second ser- 
geant, James W. Poling; third sergeant, C. S. White. 
Privates — John A. Borley, Henry Burd, C. E. Blue, Isaac 
T. Brady, Edward Brelsford, Thomas Brooke, D. Car- 
michael, John Carroll, Felix R. Davis, John H. Davis, John 
Davis, William Davis, Samuel Fleming, John Florey, David 
Fox, William French, Isaac V. Gibson, Joseph Gill, Robert 
Gill, Joseph A. Ham men, Isaac Hartman, John Yv T . Hass, 
Henry G. Houser, Joshua Johnson, Joseph Kern, W. Lar- 
g-ent, James Linthicum, C. S. Eovett, Benjamin McDonald, 
E. H. McDonald, George Malick, B. F. Maloney, P. Mc- 
Carty, Owen Millison, Robert E. Morehead, G. Myting-er, 
Georg-e Nealis, John Nolan, William Nolan, Pierce Nolan, 
James D. Parsons, John D. Parsons, John P. Parker, Isaac 
V. Parker, William C. Parker, William M. Parsons, John. 
Peters, Peter E. Peters, James T. Peer, H. A. Powell, 
Jonathan Pug-h, Joseph Pugh, Mahlon Pug-h, Owen V. 
Pugh, Isaac Pancake, James W. Ream, Charles H. Ream, 
Frederick Sheetz, F. D. Sherrard, James E. Spaid, John F. 
Taylor, Isaac Taylor, D. K. Taylor, M. Taylor, E. Ullery, 
Edward Washing-ton, John Washington, Alexander White, 
William Wills. Musicians — William F. Davis and Peter 
Miller. 

The Hampshire Guards were organized before the com- 
mencement of the civil war, and saw service during- the 



622 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



excitement following- John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry- 
When the war began this company was one of the first in 
the field, and was one of the last to leave the field at the 
close of the war. It was called into service in May, 1861, 
to go to the front, and on the eighteenth of that month left 
Romney for Harper's Ferry. The trip down the south, 
branch to the Baltimore and Ohio railroad at Greenspring 
was made in buggies, carriages, on horseback and in 
wagons, many citizens accompanying the soldiers that far 
on their journey. The baggage train was enormous, the 
prevailing opinion seeming to be that the trip was a com- 
bined excursion and picnic, and that enoug'h provisions 
and sufficient changes of clothing should be taken along to 
render life enjoyable. The company carried a flag which, 
was destined to pass through the war and survive till the 
present day. It was of heavy silk, elaborately worked and 
embroidered, and was presented to the company in 1858 
by the ladies of Hampshire county. The presentation had 
been made by Captain Robert White with a speech appro- 
priate to the occasion. He recited the duties of the sol- 
dier, his obligations to his country and his flag, and ad- 
monished the men to carry the banner with honor in war 
and in peace; and the survivors of the company now speak 
with pride of the manner in which they performed their 
duty. Within a year after the flag was* presented it was 
taken to Harper's Ferry. Within the next two years — 
that is, in May, 1861 — it was carried to Harper's Ferry 
again. It was brought back by Frank Sherrard. The 
flag-, or what remains of it, is now in possession of Miss 
Mary Gibson, of Romney, daughter of James A. Gibson 
and granddaughter of David Gibson. The stripes have 
been cut off. They were divided among the members of 
the company as souvenirs. 

In June, 1861, the company returned to Romney, after 
having marched from Harper's Ferry to Winchester After 
occupying Romney for a few days an expedition was made 



OTHERS TAKING THE FIELD. 



623 



toward Piedmont, where a company of federal home guards 
was camped. The confederate force was made up of parts 
of the Third Tennessee and Tenth Virginia reg-iments~ 
The expedition resulted in the capture of two small can- 
non from the Cumberland home guards and the destruc- 
tion of a bridge on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. A few 
days later the confederates left Romney and returned to- 
ward Winchester, camping the first night at Hanging 
Rock, on the Northwestern pike, and the next at Capon 
Bridge. The company did not take part in the battle of 
Bull Run, although in the vicinity. In August, 1861, the 
company was doing picket duty within sight of the dome 
on the capitol at Washington. 

In 1862 an election of officers for Company K, formerly 
the Hampshire Guards, resulted in the selection of Felix 
Heiskell, captain; Frank D. Sherrard, first lieutenant; John 
H. Davis, second lieutenant. The company took part in 
the battle of Front Royal, May 23, 1862; the battle of Mid- 
dletown, May 24; the battle of Winchester, May 26. On 
June 2, on the Capon Springs road, the company was in the 
fight against General Fremont; and on the sixth of the 
same month, in a fight near Port Republic, in which Colonel 
Ashby was killed while leading- a counter-charge. On June 
8 the company took part in a battle with General Shields 
near Port Republic, and also on the same day, in another 
battle with General Fremont. The next day there was a 
battle with General Shields. The company was in the fight 
at Cold Harbor, going in with twenty-six men, of whom 
seventeen were killed or wounded in the fight. Lieutenant 
•Sherrard was killed; also John Washington, Thomas 
O'Farrell and Owen Milleson. Isaac Gibson, Isaac Arm- 
strong- and Thomas Brooks died of their wounds. 

Captain McDonald's Company '.—Company D, 

Eleventh Virginia cavalry, w T as raised by E. H. McDon- 
ald of Hampshire county. At first it was a part of the 
seventh battalion of the Ashby cavalry, and afterwards in- 



624 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



corporated in the Eleventh Virginia regiment. It con- 
tained a few men from Maryland and Pennsylvania. The 
roll of the company and a sketch of its history is as follows: 
Captain, E. II. McDonald; first lieutenant, William Taylor; 
second lieutenant, John Blue; third lieutenant, Isaac Par- 
sons; first sergeant, Joseph Sherrard; second sergeant, 
Amos Roberson; third sergeant, R. B. Kidd; quartermas- 
ter sergeant, Samuel Bane; commissary sergeant, Conrad 
TJmstett; corporals, Uriah Lease, James Ream, L. Nixon, 
George Hott; privates, John Adams, Philip Abbee, Isaac 
T. Brady, Mathias Brill, Frank Brown, Richard Brown, 
Frank Barnett, John Brown, John W. Bowers, J. W. Bobo, 
B. Carder, Frederick Carder, John Carroll, J. Carroll, Rob- 
ert Cresap, W. R. Chapman, Charles Clayton, Charles Con- 
rad, Holmes Conrad, John Casler, James Davie, Benjamin 
Dailey, George Duvalt, John Davie, Maurice Davis, John 
Bailey, Randolph Davis, Samuel Freddie, Samuel Feshel, 
J. Groves, Henry Kucldleson, Isaac Hartman, Healy Hud- 
dleson; S. Hannas, E. Herriott, G, Holt, I. Y. Inskeep, J, 
Kelly, W. Lease, C. S. Lovett, Edward Light, W, N. Mc- 
Donald, W. Morehead, Robert Morehead, F. Murphy, F. 
H. Myers, Bause McNary, Joseph A. Pancake, S. Pancake, 
John S. Pancake, A. Peer, John D. Parsons, James D. Par- 
sons, John W. Poland, Amos Poland, Jasper Pownell, Joel 
Robinson, Simon Rudolph, John Rudolph, John M. Reese, 
Charles Riley, Herman Senoff, John Saville, Luke Spurling, 
Edward Swartz, John N. Seymour, Daniel Seymour, Ab 
Shingleton, Elisha Shingleton, J. Shelley, James Smith, 
Charles Seibert, John Stewart, JohnStarns, S. Dudley Tay- 
lor, John Taylor, Enos Taylor, D. K. Taylor, John Urton, 
Isaac Wolfe, Thomas White, H. M. Watkins, Charles 
Watkins. ^ 

A list of those of the company who were killed or died 
in the service, so far as ascertainable, is as follows: Robert 
Cresap, a native of Preston county, killed at Moorefield. in 
November, 1862. He alwa}-s carried a double-barreled 

42 



OTHERS TAKING THE FIELD. 625 

-shotgun. James Davis was killed in Hampshire county. 
Frederick Abbee was captured at Moorefield, and died of 
smallpox in prison at Cairo. He was an excellent swords- 
man. Mathias Brill was killed at Darkeville, Berkeley 
county, in his first fight. James Ream, known as "the 
boy preacher," was killed. John Groves fell in the battle 
of the Wilderness, May 2, 1863. H. M. Wat&ins'was killed 
at Hagerstown, Maryland. George Hott was killed at the 
Forks of Capos. Edward Light, although in a Hampshire 
company, was from Berkeley county. He was killed near 
Richmond. James Carroll was killed at Moorefield Junc- 
tion. Daniel Seymour, from Maryland, was killed at Peters- 
burg, m Grant county. Ab Shingle ton, James Shelley and 
Isaac Wolfe were killed at Brandy Station. Frank Myers 
was captured at Darkeville and died at Vicksburg, after 
being exchanged. John Rudolph died in the hospital at 
Charlottesville, Virginia. James Stewart died at Camp 
Chase. Enos Taylor, a prisoner, died on his way to be 
exchanged. 

Amos Roberson, of this company, kept a diary during* 
the service. The entries in it, during the last few days 
before Lee's surrender, may be of interest to show how 
the men then viewed occurrences which are now history. 
After detailing the many marches of the past month, he 
enters in his diary the following notes : 

"March 29, 1865. — Left camp about twelve o'clock and 
marched all afternoon and most of the night in the direc- 
tion of Petersburg. A battle is expected. 

"March 30. — Still on the march; hard rain; camped at 
White Oak. 

"March 31. — Continued the march till three o'clock, and 
then attacked the enemy and drove them four or five miles. 
Our loss is said to be heavy. The firing w T as terrific. We 
camped on the battle ground. 

"April 1. — The battle continues. Our division was not 
engaged. Our troops fell back over the ground the} 7 drove 



626 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



the enemy on yesterday. There was heavy firing- all along- 
the line on our left. 

"April 2. — We continue to fall back, the enemy pressing- 
our rear; roads almost impassable; in camp but a short 
time tonight. 

"April 3. — Still fighting- and falling- back. 

"April 4. — Still retreating-. 

"April 5. — Still on the retreat; had a hard fight, captur- 
ing a few prisoners and driving the enemy. 

"April 6.— Had another hard fight near the long bridge. 
General Bearing was seriously wounded." 

This was the last entry. The end was then near, and 
General Lee soon surrendered. 

The Apron Flag. — A battle flag carried by Company 
D has become famous in song and story. It was a child's 
apron, and it is still preserved as oae of the most cherished 
mementoes of the war. Its history is briefly told. Lee's 
splendid and all but invincible army, with which he had 
crossed the Potomac and invaded Pennsylvania, had met 
the northern hosts on the hills of Gettysburg, and after 
one of the most desperate battles in the history of the 
world had been defeated and was slowly retreating south- 
ward to the Potomac. The army was yet powerful, but it 
had met disaster, and the soldiers realized that they were 
no longer led by the star of victory. Among the regiments 
that had passed through the storm of battle was the Elev- 
enth Virginia Cavalry. It was making- its way through 
a hostile country and among unfriendly people. The news 
of the battle had gone over the land, and the people along 
the line of retreat looked with scorn and hatred upon the 
weary soldiers as they made their way south. There was 
no friendly word or sympathetic look among- all the citizens 
of the country through which they passed. Thus, with 
feeling-s of dejection and discouragement, the confederates 
marched' through the streets of Hagerstown, Maryland, 
and out by a stone mill. Here their eyes caught sight of 



OTHERS TAKING THE FIELD. 627 



the first token of friendship they had seen among- the in- 
habitants in days. A little girl stood on a porch near the 
mill watching- the soldiers pass. She wore a small confed- 
erate flag- for an apron. The discovery was greeted by 
rousing cheers by the weary soldiers, who little expected 
to find a friend in that place, and several of them went up 
to the child and asked for pieces of the apron for souve- 
nirs. She cheerfully took the apron off and gave it to 
them. Charles Watkins, of Hampshire county, took it, 
fastened it to a stick, and said he would use it for a battle 
flag and defend it with his life. 

He little knew how soon he would be called upon to re- 
deem his pledge. Scarcely had they passed beyond the 
town when union troops opened fire on them from the 
front. The battle began at once, and was fiercely fought 
for a few minutes, when the federals fell back and the con- 
federates continued their retreat. But Charles Watkins, 
who was a youth of nineteen, marched no further. He 
had been cut down in the midst of a furious charge. The 
apron flag lay beneath his body and was stained with his 
life blood. The flag was preserved, and was often exhib- 
ited at confederate reunions throughout the south. The 
following poem, written by Virginia Frazer Boyle, has for 
its subject the flag and the death of young Watkins : 
It is just a little apron 

That a tiny maid might wear 
When childhood dimpled on her cheeks 
And sunlight kissed her hair. 

Just a qaint, old-fashioned trifle, 
Blent with stripes of white and red; 

Wrought tenderly with careful hands 
And earnest, bended head. 

But the dust of years sleep on it. 

It is faded, rent and old; 
There are battle marks upon its field 

And blood stains in its fold. 



628 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Yet a dainty maiden wore it 
As she watched way up the hill, 

Standing- in the ancient doorway 
Of the busy old stone mill. 

And she saw the soldiers coming - , 

Dispirited and slow; 
A sad, retreating- army 

In the country of the foe. 

Then a shout that waked the woodlands 
Stirred her heart and filled her ear. 

Down the line it rolled and echoed 
And re-echoed, cheer on cheer. 

And the strong- men dashed the teardrops 
That would come, and cheered once more 

For the girl who dared to wear it 
And the apron that she wore. 

It had thrilled the weary legion, 
And from heart to heart it swept, 

Striking deep the languid pulses, 
Where their truth and valor slept. 

And they paused, these men of battles; 

Paused with grave, uncovered head, 
Just to beg a piece, a token, 

Of the apron, white and red. 

Then the blue e}-es dropped their fringes 

On the modest, blushing face; 
Then the proud breast swelled with ardor 

As she tore it from its place. 

Then they fixed it on the flagstaff 

And unfurled it for tie strife, 
And the noble youth who bore it 

Pledged his valor with his life. 

Onward moved the weary army 

Through the vale and down the hill; 



OTHERS TAKING THE FIELD. 



629 



Lost to sight tie modest maiden; 
Past the village and the mill; 

On and on, where raged the battle/ 
And where hearts must needs be true, 

Where the scythe of dea.th was heaping 
High the mounds of Gray and Blue; 

On and on, with stately inarching-; 

On and on, they could not lag - ; 
For in front the youthful hero 

Bravely bore the apron flag-. 

And above the black smoke, trailing 

Like a star, it beckoned on; 
Then the little apron fluttered, 

And the beacon light was gone. 

Then they lifted him, so softly, 

Smoothed the clustered curls apart; 

Found the tin}* battle apron 
Closely pillowed on his heart. 

Then they bent to catch the whisper 
Through the storm and din of strife : 

"Take'mv pledge; 'tis not dishonored. 
I have kept it with my life." 

It is just a little apron, 

And its simple tale is told. 
There are battle marks upon it; 

Blood stains are upon its fold. 

Captain White's Com pa 11 y. —Company C, Twenty- 
third Virginia cavalry, was raised for special service by 
Captain C. S. "White. It was composed of men trom sev- 
eral counties and from different states. In June, 1861, 
Captain White was a member of y the Hampshire Guards, 
under Captain Sherrard, and left Romney with that com- 
pany, and served with it four or five months, and was-made 
sergeant-major of the Thirteenth Virginia infantry. ^He 



630 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



was then reported for promotion, to adjutant, and was ap- 
pointed, but never received his commission. He was taken 
sick with typhoid fever and was ordered to the hospital at 
Staunton, and was discharged from the service. When 
able for work he went to Richmond and was given charge 
of a bureau in the treasury department. He remained 
there during- the winter of 1862-63. While there he was 
sent for by President Davis, who wanted him to organize 
a company of scouts or spies. Captain White undertook 
the work. This company was wanted for special service, 
and among- its duties was to rang-e over tke rough and 
mountainous region stretching- from Monroe county, 
throug-h Greenbrier, Pocahontas, Higiiland, Pendleton, 
Randolph, Hardy to Hampshire. With about twenty men 
from Richmond, mostly from the treasury department, as 
a nucleus, he commenced recruiting-, and in a short time 
had three hundred men. He was not permitted to retain 
more than one hundred and twenty; consequently the oth- 
ers sought service elsewhere. A considerable number 
were taken by D. E. Beall of Hampshire county, who, with 
them, joined General Imboden's cavalry. Beall was made 
lieutenant colonel of the eighteenth regiment. 

Captain White's company saw active service from the 
time it took the field till the close of the war, but particu- 
larly during the year 1864 and the early part of 1865. Dur- 
ing the summer of 1864 it had fifty-six battles and skir- 
mishes, including picket fights. In that time it had two 
men killed, twenty-six wounded, four died of wounds, ten 
were taken prisoner, and on the first of October the com- 
pany had fifteen serviceable horses and seventy that were 
not serviceable. Below will be found a list of the company, 
as it existed October 1, 1864, together with the county to 
which each man belonged: 

Captain, C. S. White, Hampshire, wounded June 21, 1864; 
first lieutenant, Alexander White, Hampshire county; 
second lieutenant, J. R. Baker, Hardy county; first ser- 



OTHERS TAKING THE FIELD. 



531 



:geant, J. M. Binford, Norfolk, wounded; second sergeant, 
J. Heishman, Hardy county, wounded; third sergeant, C. 
E. Taylor, Richmond, wounded; fourth sergeant, J. C. 
Wood, Morgan county, wounded August 6, 1864; fifth ser- 
geant, James Gochenour, Hardy county; first corporal, 
Stephen Runnells, wounded August 3, 1864; second cor- 
poral, Hulver Hayden, Pendleton county; third corporal, 
James Wetzel, died of wounds, July 6, 1864, from Hardy 
county. Privates, Benjamin Funk, Hardy county; Noah 
Albright, Nicholas couaty, supposed to have been killed at 
Fisher's Hill; Lewis Albright, Nicholas county, wounded 
June 5, 1864; John Allen, Hampshire county, wounded 
August 16, 1864; W. H. Bush, Hampshire county, wounded 
at Fisher's Hill and taken prisoner; Z. Curry, Hampshire 
county, wounded August 14, 1864; James Delaughter, 
Greenbrier county; James Devine, Greenbrier county, 
wounded June 5, 1864; J. W. Dyer, Pendleton county; 
Frank Lewis, Hardy county, killed at Forestville; Jacob 
Gochenour, Hardy county, supposed to have been killed; 
James Healy, Pocahontas county, taken prisoner June 7, 
1864; E. F. Heishman, Hardy county, taken prisoner June 
% 1864; E. Hern, Randolph count) 7 , wounded June 5, 1864; 
Adam Hulver, Hardy county, wounded June 5, 1864; D. 
Holtzinger, Pendleton county, supposed killed; Johsa Hans- 
tmrger, Highlafid county, taken prisoner July 16, 1864; 
John Koogler, Randolph county, wounded; Richard Land- 
ers, wounded; Moses Longacre, Hardy county, wounded; 
L. Q. Murphy, Hampshire county, wounded May 15 and 
July 26, 1864; Joseph Rum burg, Hampshire; L. C. Rucker, 
Hampshire, taken prisoner at Winchester; Marcus Slate, 
Hampshire, wounded June 5, 1864; Michael Sayer, Pendle- 
ton county, wounded; W. A. Vaden, Hampshire, wounded; 
L. M. Vass; Abram Whitmore, Hampshire, wounded May 
15, 1864; Peter Wetzel, Hardy, wounded; J. Wilson, Hardy; 
J. Wilkins, Randolph county, wounded at Winchester and 
taken prisoner. The following members were taken pris- 



632 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 



oner in the latter part of 1863 and early in 1864: William 
Henderson, Julius Hoskins, J. Copenham, John Jones, C. 
Graham, James McCarty, Robert Magee, Joseph McDon- 
ald, Robert Wheeler and John Wilbur. 

Captain White's company was in the Alleghany moun- 
tains in the spring- of 1865, when the order came to move 
eastward. The company marched toward Lynchburg, 
and when near that town received the news of Lee's sur- 
render. It was believed that the end of the war was at 
hand, and the men were given permission to disband or go 
to North Carolina and join Johnstoa, who was still holding* 
out. Captain White, with about twenty men, started to go 
to Johnston, but before proceeding far, the intelligence 
was received that Johnston had surrendered. They made 
their way to Highland count}^, Virginia, where it was un- 
derstood General Rosser v vas collecting a force for the pur- 
pose of making a last stand. But they failed to find any 
army in Highland, so they disbanded and went home. 
Captain White reached Romney June 22, 1865. He never 
surrendered and was never parolled. He brought home 
with him his horse, sword and pistol. The horse livecL 
twenty years after the war and finally met his death in 
jumping a fence. • 



CHAPTER LIV, 



ENLISTING CONTINUES. 

Below will be found a roll and brief history of Company 
A, Thirty Third Virginia infantry, which was composed 
of men chiefly from Spring-field and vicinit} T : Captain, 
Philip L. Grace, promoted major September, 1862, resigned 
two months later and went home; first lieutenaxt, Simeon 
D. Long-, left the command in 1861 and never returned; 
second lieutenant, Jacob N. Buzzard, died of pneumonia in 
1862; third lieutenant, William Johnson, died in Charlotts- 
ville, 1862; first sergeant, James G. Parsons, promoted, to 
third lieutenant in April, 1862, and soon afterwards re- 
signed; second sergeant, YvTiliam Montg-omery, wounded 
at Manassas, July 21, 1861, served two years in Eighteenth 
Virginia cavalry, came back to Company A in January, 
1864, and was taken prisoner at Spottsylvania Court House 
in May, 1864, and remained a prisoner till the close of the 
war; third sergeant, James P. Bailey, wounded at Kerns- 
yiile in March, 1862, was taken prisoner and died; first 
corporal, Monroe Blue, promoted to second lieutenant in 
the Eighteenth Virginia cavalry, taken prisoner in 1863 r 
and escaped while being- carried to Fort Delaware, by 
jumping from a moving- train, made his way across the 
lines and was killed at the battle of New Hope in June r 
1864; second corporal, A. A. Young, wounded July 21, 
1861, at Bull Run, left the company and went home in Sep- 
tember, 1862; third corporal, James Connelly, left the 
company in 1862 and went home. 

Privates — Herman Allen, went home September, 1862; 
Edward Allen, wounded at Bull Run, taken prisoner March. 



634 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



23, 1862, at Kernstowns, was exchanged and west home; 
Jacob Adams, went home in September, 1862; James 
Adams, killed at Bull Rim, 1861; George Arnold, went 
home in November, 1863; Andrew Baker, died in the hos- 
pital in 1862; John Baker, went home November, 1862; 
William I. Blue, killed at the first battle of Bull Run; 
Michael Blue, hired a substitute in July, 1861; Joseph 
Berry, went home in September, 1862; Michael Bright, 
captured at Kernstown, exchanged, wounded at Antietam; 
Joseph Cadwallader, wounded at the first battle of Bull 
Run; John O. Casler, transferred to the Eleventh Virginia 
Cavalry January, 1865, captured in Hampshire county 
February 5, 1865, remained in prison until the close of the 
war; Elisha Carder, wounded at Fisher's Hill; Joseph 
Carder, in Lynchburg- sick at the close of the war; William 
A. Dailey, joined rangers in 1863; Daniel Doran, discharged 
in 1862; Joseph Earsom, transferred from Second Virginia 
Regiment, elected second lieutenant in July, 1862, killed at 
the second battle of Bull Run August 30, 1862; Charles M, 
French, joined the rangers in 1862; Thomas Furlough, 
killed at the first battle of Bull Run; Thomas Gross, killed 
at Kernstown; John Grayson', went home in November, 
1862; Robert Grace, wounded at Kernstown, was cap- 
tured and died; James Gaither, killed at Spottsylvania 
Court House in 1864; George Gaither, died in the hospital 
in 1863; John Halderman, killed at the second battle of 
Bull Run; James Hass, died in the hospital at Lynchburg 
April, 1863; Edward Hartley, went home November, 1863; 
Elijah Hartley, killed at Kernstown; John Harris, went 
home September, 1862; Amos Hollenback, killed at the 
first battle of Bull Run; John Kelley, went home in No- 
vember, 1862; Patrick Kenny, went home iaa the fall of 
1862; James Linthicum, went home in 1861; John W. Long, 
went home in 1862; E manual Miller, went home in Novem- 
ber, 1862; Martin Miller, wotanded at Kernstown; Polk 
Marker, killed at Bull Run, Joseph McNemar, sick in the 



ENLISTING CONTINUES. 



635 



hospital at the close of the war; Edward Montgomery, 
joined the rangers in 1863; Thomas McGraw, died in 
prison at Camp Doug-las, Illinois; George Offutt, killed at 
the second battle of Bull Run; William H. Powell, elected 
first lieutenant in April, 1862, seriously wounded at Gettys- 
burg July 3, 1863; David Pownall, transferred to Eighteenth 
Virginia Cavalry November, 1862; Hugh Pence, transfer- 
red to Eighteenth Virginia Cavalry September, 1863; Sam- 
uel Pence, killed at the second battle of Bull Run; David 
Pence, in prison when the war closed and died before he 
reached home; Ralph Perrin, aged sixteen years at the time 
of his death, which occurred at the second battle of Bull 
Run; Charles Perria, died in the Charlottesville hospital in 
1862; William Pollard, wounded in the battle of Winchester 
September 19, 1864; Thomas Powall, went home Novem- 
ber, 1862; Joseph Parker, went home November, 1862; 
John Rhinehart, wounded at the battle of Bull Run, after- 
ward joined the cavalry; John Rizer, sick and discharged; 
David Shelley, went korae in November, 1862; William 
Sivills, sick at the close of the war; George Short, went 
home in September, 1862; David Simmons, went home in 
January, 1863; Culver Stockslager, went home in Novem- 
ber, 1862; Frank Swisher, went home sick in December, 
1861. 

The Potomac Guards, under command of Captain Grace, 
marched from Springfield to Blue's gap about the middle 
of June, 1861. They found the Hampshire Riflemen, un- 
der Captain George Sheetz, already there. About that time 
Colonel A. P. Cummins was sent from Harper's Ferry to 
Romney to collect the confederate companies in Hampshire 
and adjoining counties and form a regiment. On June 19 
the Potomac Guards and Hampshire Riflemen marched 
from Blue's gap to Romney to be placed under orders of 
Colonel Cummins. The Riflemen were organized before 
the war and were well armed, but the Guards had only old 
muskets and flintlock rifles which had been sent from Har- 



636 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



per's Ferry. Two small cannon were also sent from Har- 
per's Ferry. The Guards had no cartridge boxes and 
they carried their ammunition in their pockets. In addi- 
tion to the two companies above named, Colonel Cummins 
had under his command the Independent Greys, a Moore- 
field company. He was able to furnish uniforms for the 
men, but good guns were scarce. He was proceeding- 
nicely in his work of getting" tog-ether a regiment, but be- 
fore he had been in Romney a week, General Lew Wallace 
interfered with the confederate plans by sending a regi- 
ment of union troops from New Creek to capture the con- 
federates in Romney. The plan would have probably suc- 
ceeded had not the eagle eye of a citizen on Patterson's 
creek discovered the advance of the federals, and suspect- 
ing that they had designs against Romney, he hastened by 
short roads, and g-ave Colonel Cummins warning of his 
danger. The confederates were in no condition to fig-ht 
such a force as was approaching, and they took the road 
for Yfinchester as fast as possible. The federals came in 
at one end of town as the confederates went out at the 
other. About a dozen shots were fired up and down the 
streets, but no one was hurt. The troops from New Creek 
soon returned to that place, and Romney was again quiet.. 

After Company A reached Winchester it received its. 
supplies from Springfield, where they had been bought by 
private subscription. These consisted of knapsacks,, 
blankets, cartridge boxes, canteens and tents. This com- 
pany w r as attached to the Stonewall brigade, and took part 
in some of the hardest fighting of the war, being in the 
first and second battles of Bull Run, Chancellorsville, Get- 
tysburg and many others. 

After the battle of Bull Run there was a lull in military 
operations. A number of the members of Company A 
took advantage of the occasion to pay a visit to their homes 
in Hampshire. But they forgot to obtain permission from 
the officers. The result was that Lieutenant Buzzard was 



ENLISTING CONTINUES. 



637 



sent after tbem. He succeeded in persuading- sixteen of 
the men to return to their company. They had not in- 
tended to desert, but simply thought to take advantage of 
the lull to go home. They were not severely punished. It 
was the policy of the federals not to molest confederates 
who came home to stay. Speaking- of this, Mr. Casler in 
his book says: "The federals told the absentees if they 
would remain at nome peaceably and not g-oto bushwhack- 
ing-, they would not molest them; for they knew if arrested 
and sent to prison they would be exchanged and put in 
ranks again; but if they did not molest them the probabil- 
ities were that they would remain at home." 

Monroe Blue's Raid into Hampshire— In the 

winter of 1862 Lieutenant Monroe Blue, formerly of Com- 
pany A, but at that time belonging to the Imboden cavalry, 
came on a scout into Hampshire county by way of Lost 
river. He had a small squad of soldiers, and was joined 
by Thomas McGraw, Lieutenant Blue, William A. Dailey 
and John O. Casler, making about fifteen in all, with Ed- 
ward Montg-omery as a guide. They cautiously made 
their way across the hills to the road between Springfield 
and the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. They w T aylaid and 
captured three men, four horses and two sacks of mail. 
The next day they attacked a wagon train on Patterson's 
creek and captured two men and twelve horses. The 
union troops from Springfield gave pursuit and overtook 
them while ascending the mountain east of the South 
branch, fired upon them and took McGraw prisoner. After 
a running fight of several miles the others made their es- 
cape, but William Dailey had an eye put out by a limb of a 
tree. They lost several of their horses. 

Company A was disbaxded in January, 1865. Many had 
been killed, others had joined the cavalry, some had gone 
home, and when the last list w T as made out there was only 
one man in the company, Elisha Carder, and he was not in 
service, having been w T ounded. The company was, there- 



638 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



fore, easily disbanded. During- the winter of 1865 two 
companies of cavalry, one from Hampshire asd the other 
from Hardy, were camped on Lost river, and occasional 
raids were made into the South branch country and toward 
New creek. In one of these raids a drove of twenty-four 
cattle were taken from a government contractor named 
McFern, on Patterson's creek, and he was made a priso- 
ner and relieved of a large amount of money. The party 
was pursued by a squad of unian cavalry and taken pris- 
oner. 

Death of Mon roe Blue. — The escape from prison 
and the subsequent death in battle of Lieutenant Monroe 
Blue have been alrtady spoken of in the history of the 
company to which he belonged; but the subject demands a 
more extended notice, as he was one of the bravest soldiers 
Hampshire sent into the field. Lieutenant Blue was one 
of a party of confederate prisoners who were confined at 
Johnson's Island, in the state of New York. After being- 
in prison ten months, the order came to remove them to 
Fort Delaware, a prison near Philadelphia. For a long- 
time Lieutenant Blue had meditated escape, but the oppor- 
tunity did not come while at Johnson's Island. When 
placed on the train for the trip to Fort Delaware he under- 
took to cut a hole through the bottom of the car. He had 
hacked the edge of his pocket knife and had converted it into 
a saw. He was making- good progress toward cutting 
throug-h when the guard discovered him, and his plan was 
frustrated. He then resorted to the more desperate ex- 
pedient of knocking- down the sentinel on tbe platform and 
jumping- off. The bell rope was cut by some one at the 
same time, and the signal to stop the train could not be 
given. The leap from the cars somewhat injured his side 
and hip, falling as he did upon the rails of the double track 
at that point. But in the excitement of the moment, and 
in his eagerness to see his native hills, he forgot his inju- 
ries. He fortunately escaped being shot, although the 



ENLISTING CONTINUES. 



539 



sentiuel on the next platform fired at him at close rang-e. 
The yankee whom he had knocked down could not regain 
his feet in time to fire; and the train could not be stopped. 
He, therefore, made his escape for the present. This oc- 
curred at a point in Pennsylvania about seventy miles west 
of Harrisburg. After getting free from the train guard 
he still had dangers innumerable and hardships appalling- 
-ahead of him. The stoutest heart might have yielded to 
despair. He was in the enemy's country, and every man's 
hand was against him. He was witlaout money. It was in 
the dead of winter. If he remained in the woods he was in 
danger of starving- and freezing-. If he ventured to houses 
for food he was liable to arrest. He set forward in a 
southerly direction, and traveled days and nig-hts, by field, 
wood, road, path and wilderness. Four times in the four 
days hunger drove him to houses for food. He passed 
himself as a railroad hand and was kindly received. When 
he slept an hour or two occasionally from sheer exhaustion, 
he wrapped himself in his overcoat and lay upon the frozen 
ground. When he was obliged to pass a town he usually 
did so at night; but he walked throug-h Bedford in the day 
time. In four days and nights he walked one hundred and 
fifty miles, and finally reached his home in Hampshire 
county. His relatives were taken by surprise. They had 
supposed him dead. 

Detackments of federal troops at that time were over- 
running- Hampshire. Among- them v/as Averell, with his 
cavalry, passing- through on one of that general's accus- 
tomed dashing- movements. Although Lieutenant Blue was 
weary and footsore, he did not hesitate to do all he could 
to retard the progress of the yankee general. He succeed- 
ed in blockading a point on Averell's line of march so 
securely that rocks had to be blasted before the union 
troops got through.. Lieutenant Blue soon joined his regi- 
ment, and on June 5, 1864, took part in the battle of New 
Hope, in Augusta county. At the commencement of the 



640 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



fight some of the dismounted officers of the -brigade were 
ordered to take command of the dismounted men and de- 
ploy them as skirmishers, but they all seemed slow in 
obeying- the command. Lieutenant Blue sprang from his 
horse and said he would lead the dismounted men. He 
thus entered the battle, but never returned. As he was 
leading his men he was shot through the neck and fell 
dead. On that day died as brave a soldier as ever gave up 
his life on the field of battle. 

Captain Muse's Companjj.— Company F, Eigh- 
teenth Virginia cavalry, under Captain R. Bruce Muse, in 
the confederate service, was composed of men partly from 
Hampshire county and partly from Frederick county, Vir- 
ginia. Captain Muse now lives at Mountain Home, near 
Heiskell postoffice, in Frederick county. No roll of his 
company is in existence, so far as known, but the captain 
prepared for this book, from memory, a list of the men 
from Hampshire who were in his company. The list is as 
follows: Tilbury M. Arnold, wounded; Lemuel Arnold, 
Harvey Arnold, died from wounds; Alfred Anderson, 
Daniel Anderson, slightly wounded; Westley Frank, Ben- 
ton Frank, wounded, and now live in the west; David Grif- 
fin, Richard M. Johnson, wounded three times; William 
Scott Johnson, Eusabius Johnson, John Johnson, wounded; 
John Kelso, Elkanah Lafollett, "Wood McKee, wounded; 
Daniel Miller, Thomas Miller, Seinon Marple, wounded 
twice; William Nixon, transferred to Captain Lovett's 
company; John Nixon, John Oats, Vincent S. Pugh, Fran- 
cis M. Pugh, slightly wounded; George Pugh, Dorsey 
Reid, Martin Reid, died in the army, L. S. Spaid, Evan P. 
Ward, wounded, died at Lynchburg, Virginia. B. N. 
Lockart and J. O. By waters were sergeants in Captain 
Muse's company, but they were transferred to Captain 
Lovett's company and Lockart became first lieutenant and 
By waters second lieutenant. 

43 



CHAPTER LV, 



ONE FEDERAL COMPANY, 

When the civil war began Mineral county was a part of 
Hampshire, and Company I, Tenth West Virginia volun- 
teer infantry, under Captain James A. Jarboe, was organ- 
ized at Piedmont, May 5, 1862, and was mustered into the 
service of the United States May 19, 1862. There was not 
one company of union soldiers organized in the present 
territory of Hampshire, but as its limits at that time in- 
cluded Mineral, it is given credit for one federal company 
to offset thirteen companies and parts of companies mus- 
tered into the service of the confederacy. Following will 
be found a history of Captain Jarboe's company. 

The field and staff officers were: Colonel, T. M. Harris; 
lieutenant colonel, M. S. Hall; major, Henry Withers; sur- 
geon, George E. Ganes, died at Harrisonburg*, Virginia, 
October 3, 1864; assistant surgeon, J. R. Blair; adjutant, 
O. P. Boughner; quartermaster, Samuel Adams; chaplain, 
John Branch; sergeant-major, Henry H. Detimore; quar- 
ter-master-sergeant, Herman Gregg; commissary ser- 
geant, John P. Phillips; hospital stewart, Antony Simon. 
The company officers were: Captain, James A. Jarboe, 
wounded September 6, 1863; first lieutenant, John M. Jar- 
boe, wounded at Shafer's mountain, promoted from second 
to first lieutenant June 1, 1863; second lieutenant, Michael 
Ahern, promoted from first sergeant, June 1, 1863, taken 
prisoner; orderly sergeant, Isaac N. Trout, promoted from 
corporal June 1, 1863; second sergeant, John W. Rawlings; 
third sergeant, William I. Hilkey, wounded July 24, 1S64; 
fourth sergeant, Benjamin F. Mayhew, captured and died 



643 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



at Andersomville, Georgia; fifth sergeant, John H. Kitzmil- 
ler; first corporal, Henry Banner, taken prisoner; second 
corporal, George W. Miers; third corporal, John Likens r 
deserted; fourth corporal, David K. Crawford; fifth cor- 
poral, Joseph H. Aronhalt, taken prisoner; sixth corporal,, 
William Hershman, taken prisoner; seventh corporal, John. 
T. Cross; musicians, Richard II. Thrush, killed near Stras- 
burg, Virginia, October 13, 1864; Ransom T. Powell; wag- 
oner, Abram P. Byrd. Former officers, commissioned, 
and non-commisioned: First lieutenant, W. Barclay, died 
at Winchester, Virginia, April 19, 1863; sergeant, William 
Turner, died at Winchester; corporal, James Shiilenburg,, 
died at Winchester; corporal, Michael Thrush, died from 
wounds received September 19, 1864. 

Privates, Gabriel F. Arnold, Hezekiah P. Bailey, William 
Bartholow, Joseph Bobo, Silverton Burns, wounded at Win- 
chester, September 19, 1864; James S. Barrick, deserted; 
James Blackburn, deserted; George Blackburn, taken pris- 
oner; Samuel T. Brooks, died in a confederate prison; 
Peter Bever, taken prisoner; Thomas Cornell, Orlando- 
Chester, taken prisoner; William Drew, wounded at Lee- 
■town, Pennsylvania; Joseph Danner, taken prisoner; Wil- 
liam J. H. Dye, taken prisoner; Theodore Elliott, deserted; 
Pater R. Green wait, wounded October 19, 1864; John 
Grapes, deserted; David Harrison, taken prisoner; Jacob 
H. Hull, discharged; James G. L. Harrison, Runnels Har- 
rison, wounded at Winchester, September 19, 1864; George 
A. Harrison, died in the hospital; Henry Hall, taken pris- 
oner; Francis M. J&rboe, Arnold Lyon, died at New Creek, 
West Virginia; Michael A. Liller, John Liller, taken pris- 
oner and died at Andersonville, Georgia; Peter Mason, 
taken prisoner; Solomon Martin, George Martin, wounded 
September 19, 1864; Joshua J. Mayhew, wounded July 24, 
1864; John W. Moore, died at Winchester; John McAnerny, 
George Miller, died at Philippi, West Virginia; Jacob Mun- 
gold, deserted; James May, deserted; Hugh O'Donnall, 



ONE FEDERAL COMPANY. 



643 



John Poland, taken prison; Joseph Powell, Charles T. Pow- 
elson, taken prisoner; Jacob Rhodes, taken prisoner; John 
W. Rhodes, Samuel Steward, Isaac Shillenburg, William 
Shafer, "William JT. Staggs, taken prisoner; John F. Stages, 
taken prisoner; Benjamin Tasker, wounded October 19, 
1864; John D. Welch, deserted. 

Captain Jarboe's company was in the following- engage- 
ments: Timber Ridge, August, 1, 1862; Shafer 's Mountain, 
August 22, 1862; Hedgeyille, Virginia, July 26, 1863; Lunice 
Creek, September 6, 1863; McNemar's Church, January 3, 
1864; Leetown, Virginia, July 3, 1864; Maryland Heights, 
July 5 and 6, 1864; Snicker's Ferry, Virg-inia, July 18, 1864; 
Winchester, Virg-inia, July 23 and 24, 1864; Martinsburg, 
West Virg-inia, 1864; Berryville, Aug-ust 3, 1864; Cedar 
Creek, Virg-inia, Aug-ust 15, 1864; Fisher's Hill, Virg-inia, 
September 22, 1864; near Strasburg-, Virg-inia, October 13, 
1864; Cedar Creek, Virginia, October 19, 1864. 



CHAPTER' L VI, 



«o» 

IMBODEN'S RAID. 

Early In the summer of 1863 General Lee planned the 
Gettysburg- campaign. It is worthy of note that his 
first written orders, relating- especially to the preparation 
for that campaig-n, were in reg-ard to a movement in Hamp- 
shire county. The letter given below, written by General 
Lee, is self-explanatory, particularly when viewed in the 
light of subsequent events. This is the letter: 

"Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia, 

"June 7, 1863. 

"Brigadier General John D. Imboden, 

"Commanding- Northwestern Brigade, 
"Staunton, Virginia. 

"Gisnekal: In view of operations in the Shenandoah val- 
ley, I desire you to attract the enemy's attention in Hamp- 
shire county, and proceed down to Romney, or such other 
point as you may consider best calculated for the purpose. 
After leaving a sufficient guard in the Shenandoah moun- 
tains, you can use the rest of your command for the pur- 
pose specified. In attracting- their attention, and detain- 
ing whatever force they may have at New Creek, Cumber- 
land, Cacapon, • etc., you will, of course, do them all the 
injury in your power by striking them a damaging blow at 
any point where opportunity offers, and where you deem 
most practicable. It will be important, if you can accom- 
plish it, to destroy some of the bridges so as to prevent 
communication and the transfer of reinforcements to Mar- 
tins!) urg. After accomplishing what you can in Hamp- 
shire, should you find it practicable or advantageous, you 



.IMBODEN 'S RAID. 



645 



can cooperate with any troops you may find operating- in. 
the valley, forwarding- to the commanding- officer of the 
force there any information that you may deem important, 
and comply with any requisition on his part. I desire you 
to move into Hampshire as soon as possible. Let me know 
the time of your departure and the time of your expected 
arrival. In connection with this purpose, it is important 
that you should obtain for the use of the army all the cattle 
that you can. Communicate with the agents of the com- 
missary department you may find purchasing' in the country 
west of Staunton, and let them make arrang-ements to as- 
sist you in purchasing- and taking- care of the cattle. Major 
Nolan is now in that region making- arrang-ements for cat- 
tle. I wish you to communicate with him if practicable. I 
hope you will also be able in that country to collect recruits 
for your brig-ade, both cavalry and infantry, and bring- 
them out with you. I am very respectfulty. 

"R. E. Lee, General." 
In obedience to the instructions contained in this letter, 
Imboden was soon in motion and came into the South 
branch valley. After a brush with federal scouts below 
Romney he divided his force, sending- one divison to Cum- 
berland and the other down tfcie South branch. The force 
sent to Cumberland approached the town and fired a few 
shells, but met with no resistance. The citizens surren- 
dered the place and the confederates entered. They did 
not remain long-. Imboden proceeded eastward and on his 
way burnt the railroad bridg-e at Patterson creek. Before 
this division of his troops had reached the mouth of the 
South branch the other division had arrived at that point 
and had battered down the railroad bridg-e with artillery. 
They planted a g-un with a rang-e at rig-ht ang-les with the 
bridg-e and cut the beams with cannon balls. At the 
eleventh shot the bridg-e fell. The bridg-e was of iron and 
steel, and the solid shot ; ,cut the beams as if they had been, 
pine. The noise made when the cannon balls struck the 



646 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



beams was heard many miles. It is said, indeed, that this 
noise was heard at a greater distance than the report of 
the cannon. 

John Greitzner' s Horse— In June, 1863, General 
Imboden, with about seventeen hundred men, camped two 
and a half miles above Romney, on his way to Gettysburg-, 
Among" his soldiers was John Greitzner, who was acquaint- 
ed in Romney. He was m need of a horse, and having 
saved a considerable sum of money, boug-ht one in Rom- 
ney. The animal was barefooted, and not being able to 
have shoes put on in town, he took the horse to a black- 
smith shop on the Northwestern pike, a mile above Rom- 
ney. The smith had nailed one shoe on, when federals 
appeared. They were so near that Greitzner could not 
escape. He wore a confederate uniform. He pulled off 
his coat and threw it behind the forge and assumed an air 
of innocence. The federals proved to be a scounting party 
of forty which had been riding about the country several 
days. Some of them entered the shop and asked Greitz- 
ner what he was doing there. He said he had brought a 
horse to have it shod. "What are you doing with gray 
clothes on?" was the next pointed question. "It is pretty 
hard times, and we boys in Romney have to wear anything 
we can get." "Do you live in Romney?" "Yes." The 
Yankees took a good look at kimand came to the conclusion 
that he was not a rebel, but had picked up a pair of con- 
federate pants somewhere; so they started on. But a sol- 
dier with a lame horse came hobbling after, and seeing the 
horse in the shop, took it and left his in its place. Greitz- 
ner considered that he had made a lucky escape, even if 
be did lose the horse. 

Fight Near Romney. — The union scouts who took 
Greitzner's horse proceeded to Romney, unaware that Im- 
boden was in the vicinity. But some of the confederates 
were in town, and lost no time in communicating with Im- 
boden, who sent two or three companies to surround and 



IMBODEN'S RAID. 



647 



capture the yankees, if possible. The latter had proceed- 
ed down the river on the road to Hanging; Rocks. But Im- 
boden's men were in the road ahead of them, and were 
placed in an advantageous position on the hill near the 
present residence of Garrett Parsons. The force was am- 
ple to surround and capture the scouts had the attack been 
-properly made; but through some misunderstanding- the 
men neglected to attack at the proper moment, and the yan- 
kees, taking- in the situation at a glance, escaped with only 
-one man wounded. But their force was cut in two, a num- 
ber galloping back toward town, and b} r crossing- over the 
hills throug-h the woods reached the Jersey mountain road 
and escaped by that route, while the main body put spurs 
to their horses and went down the road toward Hanging 
Rocks. However, while escaping- from one ambuscade 
they ran into another. 'McNeill's company was at Hang- 
ing- Rocks, and the scouts were caught between two 
forces — Imboden's from the rear and McNeill's from the 
front. There was only one avenue of escape, and that led 
across the river. The scouts attempted it, but McNeill 
headed them off, and they escaped up the mountain on the 
west side of the river, but were compelled to abandon fif- 
teen horses, which fell into McNeill's hands. 

How Imboden Saved His Men. — General Imbo- 
den occupied Romney several days in 1862. Daring* that 
time General Kelley, with a large union force, was at New 
Creek. Among his troops was a body of Dutch cavalry, 
which had not been much in service. The men were poor 
riders, and in order that they might have grounds for ex- 
ercise and practice, a horse corral was established outside 
the town, and the Dutch cavalrymen kept their horses 
there. Imboden sent his men to New Creek to procure, 
by capture, such horses as they could, and they found the 
Dutch horses an easy prey. They carried several off, and 
-a few nights later returned and procured another lot. 
Not meeting with opposition, the rebels continued to pay 



648 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



nig-htly visits to the corrals, until they had secured nearly 
a hundred. General Kelley grew tired of it, and set an 
ambuscade at the corral, and the next night caught three 
of Imboden's men and promptly sentenced them to be hung 
as horse thieves. A woman who lived near by informed 
Imboden of what had happened, and he wrote to Kelley, 
saying that the men had acted under orders, and that if 
anyone were guilty the guilt must rest on their general. 
He further stated that he held twenty-nine federal prison- 
ers and could easily catch another, and that he would re- 
taliate and hang ten yankees for every rebel hanged by 
Kelley. The union general replied that, inasmuch as the 
men had acted under orders, they were not guily of horse- 
stealing and would be held simply as prisoners of war. 
Frank Pownall, of North river, was one of the three men 
sentenced to death by General Kelley. 
Attack on an Armored Car.— -On July 4, I864 r 

General Imboden made an attack on the railroad bridg-e 
over the South branch. He fired with artillery for some 
time, but was unable to do much damage, because a block 
house on the west side of the river, garrisoned by union 
troops with artillerv, rendered it impossible for him to 
reach a position from which his guns were effective against 
the bridge. An armored car, covered with railroad iron 
and containing seven men and a twelve-pounder, stood on 
the track on the west end of the bridge. It was one of 
a number constructed to run up and down the road, guard- 
ing exposed and threatened places. The mission of this 
one was to guard the South branch bridge, as a sort of aux- 
iliary to the block house. It was believed to be proof, 
against small artillery. There was a porthole in each end, 
about six inches in diameter, just large enough for the 
muzzle of the cannon. Each porthole was provided with a 
trap door, whick could be closed by a lever inside; and 
whea closed, it was supposed that shells could rain upon 
the car all day without doing harm. There was a trap 



IMBODEN'S RAID. 



649 



door two feet square in the bottom, and through this the 
garrison went- in and out. The men who constituted the 
garrison of the car on July 4, 1864, belong-ed to a Maryland 
company, and were James L. Croston, Albert Bigford, 
Alexander B. King, Benjamin Closs, Lieutenant Moses M. 
Bigford, Dennis Dehaven and John W. Croston. 

When Imboden found that he could not bring his gun to 
bear on the bridge, he tried the range on the car, from the 
distance of half a mile. The first shell passed over the 
car. The next struck it near the roof. The third went 
in at the porthole; and as it did so, it jarred the trapdoor 
shut, rendering the car as dark as a dungeon, except that 
the shell had a long fuse of a peculiar pattern, which gave 
a diabolical light as it sputtered and hissed, and went spin- 
ning and gyrating- about the floor of the car, scatterings 
sparks and lurid smoke in all directions. The seven men 
in the car made a wild scramble for the trapdoor in the 
floor, trying to g*et out before the shell exploded, which it 
certainly would do in a few seconds, even if it did not set 
the car's ma.gazine on fire and create a sudden and instan- 
taneous volcanoe. While the men were scrambling for the 
place of exit in the floor, one of the portholes flew open from 
some cause, and on the spur of the moment John W. Cros- 
ton tried to pick up the hissing shell and throw it out. But 
it spun about so rapidly that he could not get hold of it, 
although he severely burned his hands and face in the effort 
to grab it. By this time the other men had succeeded in 
opening the door in the bottom of the car, and out they 
went, Croston being the last to go, and barely escaped the 
explosion, being so near that his face was filled with pow- 
der. The car caught fire and what escaped the explosion 
was burned. The shells in its magazine kept up a furi- 
ous bombardment for some minutes. The late garrison, 
after they escaped from the car, never looked back until 
they had crossed the Potomac into Maryland. 

In the meantime Imboden had turned his guns on the 



650 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



"blockhouse, but, so far as lie could see, he made no impres- 
sion on it. However the garrison were bard put to it. The 
day was excessively warm, and the smoke in the building- 
was stifling-. They were about to raise the white flag- when 
Imboden ceased firing- and took his departure. He had 
done little damage to the bridge, and had not stopped travel 
on the railroad. After his departure, the union troops 
destroyed a portion of the pike up Breakneck mountain to 
prevent the confederates from bringing- artillery by that 
route to the bridge in the future. 



CHAPTER LYIL 



<o> 

MURDER OF CAPTAIN STUMP, 

Following- are the marries of the members of Captain 
George W. Stump's company, B, Eighteenth regiment Vir- 
ginia cavalry, copied from the official roll of the company, 
now in possession of Lieutenant Philip H. Snarr of Hardy 
county: George W. Stump, captain, Hampshire county; 
William H. Feller, first lieutenant, Hardy county; Robert 
Oats, second lieutenant, Hardy county; Philip K. Snarr, 
second lieutenant, Hardy county; Solomon Park, first ser- 
geant, Hampshire county; Samuel W. Feller, second ser- 
geant, Shenandoah county; John Park, third sergeant, 
Hampshire county; Henry Cobin, fourth serg-eant, Hamp- 
shire county; Henry G. Houser, fifth sergeant, Hampshire 
county; Robert J. Damon, first corporal, Hardy county; 
James W. Tucker, second corporal, Hardy county; John 
Tharp, third coporal, Hampshire county; JohnT. Mathias, 
fourth corporal, Hardy county; David J. Buckley, quarter- 
master serg-eant, Hardy county; William H. Davidson, 
blacksmith, Hardy county; Park Ashford, farrier, Hamp- 
shire county. Privates: John H« Anderson, Shenandoah; 
Jacob Brock, Hardy; Robert T. Burch, Hardy; Joseph 
Brill, Hardy; William W. Bean, Hardy; John W. R. Bean, 
Hardy; John H< Broil, Hardy; Asa C. Bean, Hardy; John 
T. Brown, Hardy; William F. Bean, Hardy; William W. 
Bean, jr., Hardy; George W. Bean, Hardy; Bennett Bean, 
Hardy; Alfred J. Beau, Hardy; John H. Comb*, Hampshire; 
Charles Combs, Hardy; Jehu Combs, Hardy; Georg-e W. 
Combs, Hardy; Jeremiah Dove, Hardy; Abraham Delaw- 
der, Hardy; Jacob Delawder, Hardy; John Delawder, 



652 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Hardy; Samuel Delawder, Hardy; Amos Delawder, Hardy; 
Joseph H. Earls, Hardy; Cyprianus Fitzwater, Hardy; 
William H. Fitzwater, Hardy; John P. Gretzman, Hamp- 
shire; Georg-e Greaves, Aug-usta; Jeremiah Hig-gs, Rock- 
ing-ham; Elias Hig-g-s, Rocking-ham; John Hunsbary, Hardy;. 
William Hatter man, Hardy; Georg-e W. Harless, Hardy;. 
Peter Kohne, Hardy; Philip W. Link, Hardy; John Link, 
Hardy; Joseph Lowery, Hardy; Joseph Linthicum, Hardy; 
Ambrose Lind, Hardy; Jacob Mathias, Hardy; Samuel 
Moyers, Hardy; Isaac Moyers, Hardy; John N. Mathias,. 
Hardy; Samuel May, Hardy; Abraham Moyers, Rocking-- 
ham; Elijah L. Nazelrod, Hardy; Benjamin Park, Hamp- 
shire; Joseph M. Parker, Hardy; James W. Poland, Hamp- 
shire; James A. Pepper, Hampshire; Jacob C. Stultz, 
Hampshire; Cyrus See, Hampshire; George W. Shireman, 
Hampshire; Allmon Sager, Hampshire; Abner Shireman, 
Jackson Strawderman, Hampshire; Leonard Strawderman, 
Hampshire; Jacob Smith, Hampshire; Joseph T. Tucker,, 
Hampshire; James W. Taylor, Hampshire; Philip Whit- 
mer, Hardy; Selestine Whitmer, Hardy; Jacob Walker, 
Hardy; David Witmer, Hardy; Adam Whitmer, Hardy; 
Abraham Whitmer, Hardy; Charles Wilson, Hardy. 
The Murder of Captain Stump— -No soldier 

sent from Hampshire into the confederate army was more 
active than Captain Stump, whose home was on the South 
branch, a few miles above Romney. He was a man of 
wealth, and equipped at his own expense the men of his. 
company, except a portion of their arms. He furnished, 
the horses. He was wounded in the neck near Winchester 
late in 1864, and was incapacitated for service for some 
time. Early in 1865 he ag-ain took the field, but was still 
suffering- from his wound. About the first of February he 
marched with his men to the vicinity of Moorefield, and. 
thence to Hampshire, and on February 5. early in the 
morning-, he arrived at William Stump's, tw r o miles above- 
Romney. His father lived there, and he stopped to see 



MURDER OF CAPTAIN STUMP. 653 



Ills people. He rode into a lane, tied his horse and went 
into the house. 

In order to understand the particulars of his death, it is 
necessary to go back and detail the movements of the fed- 
eral force which pursued and overtook him. General Cus- 
ter, afterwards killed by Sitting Bull, was then at Winches- 
ter, and about the first of February, 1865, sent spies to 
discover the whereabouts of Major Henry Gilmor, who 
was believed to have a small confederate force on the South 
fork, in Hardy county- The spies made their report, and 
Custer sent three hundred cavalry, under Major Young-, 
across the mountains into the South branch valley. These 
men passed up North river in the night. There was a con- 
federate picket in that part of the country under command 
of a man named Heiskell. One of his men discovered the 
union cavalry, and it was evident that they were striking- 
for Gilmor or McNeill. This picket asked permission of 
Heiskell to g*o to McNeill and Gilmor and inform them of 
their dang-er. Heiskell refused to give his consent and or- 
dered the picket not to go, saying that he was not doing- 
picket service for McNeill. This selfishness on his part 
no doubt cost the life of Captain Stump and caused the cap- 
ture of Gilmor. Major Young- pushed forward with his 
cavalry and captured Major Gilmor, and then moved down 
the South branch to Romney. On the way he overtook 
and captured some of Captain Stump's men, and learned 
from them that the captain was ahead. These federals 
wore gray uniforms. 

They proceeded to William Stump's, and seeing- a horse 
tied, concluded that Captain Stump was there. The cap- 
tain had just arrived and was entering- the house, having 
only reached the porch when he observed that strang-ers 
were in the vicinity. He walked to the edg-e of the porch, 
and seeing- several horses tied to the fence and hearing- 
men talking- on the other side of the house, he realized that 
he was in danger of capture, and started toward his horse. 



654 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



His wound prevented him from running- and he walked up 
the yard. By that time the federals had entered the house,, 
and several were in the yard. One of them said to William 
Stump: "Who is that man and what is he running- for?" 
Mr. Stump made no reply. Captain Stump had by this 
time reached his horse and had untied him. At this mo- 
ment lie was fired at with a revolver, but was not struck. 
The shot brought several yankees round the house and they 
fired as the captain was mounting- his horse. The animal 
was struck and the captain fell heavily on the frozen 
ground. The federals surrounded him, and as he was 
trying- to rise, one of them shot him in the side. He was 
overpowered and taken prisoner. They carried him to 
the lane below the house. He asked permission to see his 
father, who was sick in the house. His request was de- 
nied. They mounted him on a horse and started with him 
down the road. The manner of his death" was learned 
from those who took part in it. He had gone but a short 
distance when he became too sick to ride. One of the 
guards so reported to Major Young, who is said to have 
replied: "Make him sicker." At any rate, he was mur- 
dered on the spot, and the soldiers claimed that they did 
it in obedience to the orders of Major Young. Captain 
Stump was shot more than a dozen times, was stripped of 
his clothes and left dead in the road. His brother removed 
the body. Not only did the friends of Captain Stump con- 
sider that he was murdered, but the union soldiers re- 
garded it as murder and spoke of it as such. 

All of Captain Stump's papers fell into the hands of the 
federals. None of his property in the valley of Virginia 
was ever recovered by his friends. It was known that he 
had many horses there, as well as other property; but in 
the excitement and danger of the time, nothing was saved. 
Shortly after the war Colonel Young went to the border 
between Mexico and the United States, and was caught by 
the Mexicans and hanged. 



MURDER OF CAPTAIN - STUMP. 655 



Taxing Citizens, — An example of how the innocent 
sometimes suffer for the guilty was seen on December 2, 
1864, in the lower part of the South branch valley. When 
McCausland passed through that country in August, 1864, 
some of his men burned the residence of Mrs. Huffman. 
No one ever accused the citizens of the surrounding 
country of having anything to do with it. Yet, on Decem- 
ber 2, 1864, a squad of union soldiers were sent into the 
valley and levied and forcibly collected a tax from the citi- 
zens from Miehael Blue's to the mouth of the South branch 
to reimburse Mrs. Huffman for her loss. It was done in 
war, and many thing's are tolerated in war which would 
not be endured in peace; but, nevertheless, a proceeding 
like that outrages every sentiment of justice. 



CHAPTER LVIIL 



«o» 

AVERELL DEFEATS M'CAUSLAND, 

Early in August, 1864, an important military movement 
took place in Hampshire county, but the battle occurred in 
Hardy. It was the most important battle fought in the 
South branch valley during- the war, and deserves mention 
somewkat in detail. The confederate generals engaged 
were McCausland and Bradley T. Johnson, while General 
W. W. Averell was in command of the union forces. Mc- 
Causland had been on a raid into Pennsylvania, and had 
burned Chambersburg, after plundering it. General 
Averell, with a force of cavalry, was ordered to pursue, and 
if he could overtake McCausland to fight him to a finish. 
The confederates retreated from Pennsylvania, passed 
south of Cumberland, attacked the union forces at New 
Creek and moved leisurely to Moorefield, where they went 
into camp a few miles below the town, General Johnson on 
one side of the river and General McCausland on the other. 
They evidently did not expect pursuit, as no precaution 
was taken against surprise. General Averell crossed the 
Potomac at Hancock on August 4, and took the route to 
Bath, in Morgan county, by Bloomery gap. He reached 
Springfield, m Hampshire county, the next day, losing one 
hundred horses from exhaustion. On August 6 he moved 
to Romney, and during the afternoon his scouts captured 
a messenger with dispatches from McCausland, and from 
these he learned the position of the confederates near 
Moorefield, and he moved at once to the attack, routing the 
confederates, capturing all their cannon, four hundred 
horses, thirty officers, four hundred and twenty prisoners, 

44 



AVERELL DEFEATS M 'CAUSE AND. 657 



billing- many, retaking- nearly all the plunder carried from 
Pennsylvania and pushing- the southern forces hurriedly 
up the mountains east of Moorefield. General McCausland 
came near being- court-martialed for allowing- himself to be 
surprised and whipped. He had notice of the advance of 
Averell nearly four hours before the union forces came up; 
yet he suffered his forces to remain separated by the river, 
and they thus were defeated in detail by the enemy. The 
fact probably is that, althoug-h notified that Averell was 
coming-, McCausland did not expect him so early in the 
morning-. Information of the approach of the federals had 
been carried to McCausland by W. H. Maloney, of Mc- 
Neill's rang-ers. Following- will be found Mr. Maloney's 
account of the affair, as he saw it : 

"I was in Romney when General Averell arrived. As he 
came in at one end of the town I went out at the other. I 
suspected his desig-n, and hid in the woods near the bridg-e 
over the South branch above town and watched his move- 
ments. His men halted and fed their horses, and then 
crossed the river and took the Mill creek road, in the direc- 
tion of Moorefield. I estimated his force to be between 
seventeen hundred and two thousand. As soon as Averell 
was out of sig-ht I started up the river road for Moorefield. 
I had gone only a few miles when I met Isaac Parsons, and 
persuaded him to go with me. Yfe reached Moorefield at 
midnig-ht, and I went at once to the house of Samuel A. 
McMicken, General McCausland's headquarters. I in- 
formed the g-eneral that Averell was coming-. He seemed 
to doubt it at first, but I heard him send an order to the 
camp to g-et ready to meet the enemy. I was acquainted 
with Mr. McMicken, having- been f requentl}^ at his house. 
I told him that I was very tired and would like to take a 
sleep. He directed me to a room, where I found a bed, 
and I was soon asleep. Thrt v/as the last I knew until 
daybreak. I arose, and was told that the ofncers who had 
slept at the house were all gone. I went out in the yard 



658 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE, 



and listened, but heard no firing- or any commotion of any 
kind, and I concluded that Averell's expected arrival had 
not yet taken place, and that McCausland was ready for 
him. I went to the barn and saddled my horse, ready for 
an emergency. I then returned to the house, just as 
breakfast was called, and sat down to eat. No one else, 
except the family, was there. I had bultered a biscuit and 
was taking- the first bite when a young- colored girl rushed 
in and exclaimed: 'Sun, Mr. Maloney! De town am full 
ob yankees!' I ran out at the back door to the stable for 
my horse, and as I went I heard cavalry advancing-, the clat- 
ter of sabers against the saddles and the voices of men; 
but there was no firing and no yelling. I peeped through 
a crack of the stable to see where the yankees were and 
Which way I should skip; but, to my surprise, I saw the 
streets full of rebels and not a yankee insight. I mounted 
my horse and went out to the street, and realized the situ- 
ation. Our men were retreating, and were panic stricken. 
Every man was trying to save himself. 

"I was unable to understand why they were running and 
so much excited. The street was so crowded and jammed 
that I was afraid to enter it. Every man was exclaiming, 
'Go on! go on!' Nearly opposite me was a street that was 
not open, except for a short distance. It was closed by a 
fence. Our men entered this cul-de-sac, and when the 
front men came to the fence there was a jam. Those be- 
hind were crowding forward, yelling, 'Go on! go on! the 
yankees are sabering us! Go on! go on!' I called to them 
that they could not get out that way, and they turned back 
in the street, and made the jam and panic worse than ever. 
The horses were running the best they could, but so 
crowded was the street that everybody was in danger of 
being crushed. While I was standing on the sidewalk I 
caught sight of Isaac Parsons, who had come up with me 
the day before. He had been caught in the retreat, and 
was being swept along with the rest. Edward Washing- 



AYERELL DEFEATS M'CAUSLAND. 65) 



ton was riding- a horse and leading- another. The horse 
which he rode ran on one side of Isaac Parsons, and the 
horse he was leading ran on the other side; the leading- rope 
was stretched under Mr. Parsons' body, across the sad- 
dle. Washing-ton's horses were going- a little too fast for 
Parsons, and the rope was nearly lifting- him out of the 
saddle at every jump. In vain did he try to free himself 
from the rope, but he could not; and the last I saw of him 
he was riding- the rope instead of the saddle as he went 
bobbing- and bouncing- up and down in the distance. 

"In all this time not a yankee was in sight, nor was a gun 
heard. The noise of the galloping horses had wakened 
the people of the town, and they appeared at their doors 
and windows and on their porches. Nearly all of them 
were our friends, and they looked with disgust at the panic, 
while not a blue coat was in sight. A lady standing on a 
porch called to the soldiers: 'Shame! Shame! Oh, shame! 
Go back and fight! Don't run! Go back and fight! If we 
had our South branch men here they would not run!' A 
soldier who heard her looked up and answered: 'Madam, 
if your South branch men had been over in Pennsylvania 
stealing as much as we have, they would run, too.' 

"I was still by the street, afraid to enter because of the 
danger of being trampled to death. Just then Lieutenant 
Gibson came up, with his hat off, and calling me by name, 
asked me to help him rally the men. I told him it was no 
use trying, as they were in a panic. He wheeled his horse, 
rode into the street and tried to stop the stampede. They 
rode over him and his horse and threw them down. The 
last I saw of him he was on his feet trying to fight the men 
back. I think he regained his horse and escaped with the 
rest of them. When the worst of the rout had passed, I 
followed after and climbed a hill near by, from which I 
could oTerlook the town. The yankees soon appeared and 
quietly came up the street. They went no further, and 
after a short time withdrew, and returned the way they 



660 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



had come. In all this time I did not hear the firing of a, 
single g"un. The fight several miles below Moorefield took 
place wkile I was asleep. After Aver ell left the town I 
went to the battlefield with others, and brought off the 
w 7 ounded and buried the dead, union as well as confed- 
erate.*" 

Keyser Captured. — On November 28, 1864, General 
Rosser with a force of confederates captured New Creek, 
now Keyser, and destroyed large quantities of military 
stores. That town was among the first places occupied 
and fortified by the federal forces in the war. General 
Lew Wallace took possession of it early in June, 1861. Its 
importance, from a military standpoint, is easily under- 
stood. It lies at the eastern base of the Alleghany moun- 
tains, at the mouth of New creek. Roads lead to that place 
from Franklin in Pendleton county; from Petersburg, 
Grant county; Moorefield, Hardy county, and from Rom- 
ney, Hampshire county. At the period when Lew Wal- 
lace occupied New Creek, all of the towns mentioned were 
in possession of the confederates, or, at least, were not in 
possession of union forces, and might be occupied at any 
time by the confederates, who were masters of the situa- 
tion east of the Alleghanies. A march of eighteen miles 
from Romney would have placed them at New Creek. 
Petersburg was forty miles distant; Moorefield not so far; 
while Winchester was only sixty miles distant. It can 
thus be seen that New Creek was exceptionally open to at- 
tack from the confederates; and if once in their possession, 
and so long as in their possession, the Baltimore and Ohio 
railroad would be useless to the federal government. It 
Was, therefore, early determined by the government that 
New Creek should be occupied and held, and this policy 
was never departed from throughout the war. At times 
the place was strongly garrisoned, and it was frequently 
made the center from which important military movements 
were made. From there the troops were sent which occu- 



AYERELL DEFEATS M'CAUSLAND. 661 



pied Romney in June, 1861. Again, in September of the 

same year, Colonel Cantwell marched to Romney from 

New Creek. In October General Kelley went from the 

same place to attack Romney. From there General Mil- 

roy marched to Petersburg-, Grant county, and made a. 

fortified camp. From the same place marched General 

Fremont into Pendleton county early in 1862. General 
• 

Aver ell started from New Creek on the famous Salem raid 
in December, 1863. The troops were sent from New 
Creek which overtook McNeill below Moorefield when he 
was carrying- Generals Crook and Kelley off, but they 
failed to retake their g-enerals. Various other circum- 
stances and movements might be mentioned to show the 
importance of the place as a military headquarters; and it 
is not to be wondered at that the confederates considered 
it very much in the way of their operations. They never 
seriously contemplated' capturing it and holding- it for 
themselves; but they cherished the hope of destroying- the 
stores at that place and harrassing- it as muck as possible. 
General McCausland made an attack upon it in August, 
1864, while returning from his Chambersburg raid; but 
was defeated with considerable loss. 

In November, 1864, General Rosser prepared to attack 
the town and moved against it from Moorefield. His de- 
sign was unsuspected by federal officers. They did not 
know that a strong confederate force was at Moorefield, 
otherwise they would not have sent a small body of troops 
to certain destruction; for they dispatched several compa- 
nies to Moorefield, presuming that the only confederates 
there were McNeill's men, with perhaps a few others. 
The particulars of this ill-fated expedition may properly 
be given here, as it was directly connected with Rosser's 
march to New Creek: Colonel Latham, acting under orders 
from General Kelley, ordered Colonel R. E. Fleming to 
Burlington, thirteen miles from New Creek, with instruc- 
tions to march to Moorefield and endeavor to capture Mc- 



6b2 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

Neill, who was -believed to be in the vicinity with his com- 
pany. Colonel Fleming undertook to surround McNeill, 
the more certainly to effect his capture, and for that pur- 
pose sent Major Potts with two hundred men to the rear 
of Moorefield, while, with the remaining- one hundred, Col- 
onel Fleming- proceeded directly to Moorefield, reaching 
the north bank of the South branch on the evening- of No- 
vember 27, 1864, and there encamped. Within less than 
half an hour the intelligence was brought by scouts* that a 
large force of confederates had been seen just south of 
Moorefield. Colonel Fleming- remounted his men, sent a 
small detachment across the river to gain more exact in- 
formation, and awaited developments. • He had not long to 
wait. The scouts came back with the report that General 
Rosser, with more than three thousand men, was in the 
vicinity. The federals had only one piece of artillery. 
This was placed in position on the river bank, and as the 
confederates approached, fire *was opened upon them. 
General Rosser returned the fire from the opposite bank. 
Colonel Fleming- held his ground until he discovered that 
Rosser was about to surround him bv sending troops 
across the river, both above and below. Retreat in double- 
quick time was all that remained for the federals, and they 
fell back, hotly pursued by the confederates. 

The only avenue of escape was a" narrow wagon read 
leading- through a g-ap between two mountains. Tke artil- 
lery was placed in front and the retreat beg-an. It was a 
running- fight all the way to the gap. The narrowness of 
the road prevented Rosser from making use of his superior 
numbers, otherwise the whole command of Fleming would 
have been captured in a short time. In the gap the artilllery 
broke down and was abandoned. A hand-to-hand fight with 
sabers occurred in the narrow pass, as darkness was clos- 
ing- the scene. Only one termination was possible. The 
federals were defeated and almost annihilated. Fifty men 
were left dead or wounded on the field. The fugitives 



AVERELL DEFEATS M 'CAUSE AND. 



663 



:fled in the darkness, and reached New Creek in four 
hours, a distance of nearly forty miles, carrying- the report 
that General Rosser, with at least three thousand men, 
was advancing-. The report proved correct. Colonel La- 
tham, who was in command at the place, had little time in 
which to prepare for the attack. 

General Rosser stripped the uniforms from the dead, 
wounded and captured union soldiers, and dressed his own 
soldiers in blue, and sent them as an advance guard toward 
New Creek, while his main army followed. This was done 
for the purpose of getting- into New Creek before the gar- 
rison should discover that the men were rebels in disguise. 
The plan succeeded. The front of the rebel column, 
dressed in yaakee uniform, approached the town. The 
union pickets supposed some of their own men were get- 
ting- in, and allowed them to approach unchallenged. In 
fact, so little did they suspect the truth that as Rosser's 
men drew near New Creek a yankee picket, supposing that 
he rvas addressing yankees, called out familiarly: "Well, 
you got wkipped again, did you!" The pickets, taken by 
surprise, were overpowered, and the capture of New Creek 
was quickly done. The chief part of the garrison escaped 
across the rirer ieto Maryland, where, from the wooded 
hills, they witnessed the destruction of the military stores 
and the burning- of public property. General Rosser set 
fire to the magazines, and the bursting- of shells made the 
mountains echo for twenty miles around, leading the citi- 
zens to believe that a heavy battle was in progress. Georg-e 
W. Washing-ton wrote in his diary that day: "I heard 
heavy firing in the direction of New Creek;" and later 
he added: "The report is that General Rosser has cap- 
tured New Creek and burnt the government stores there. 
I think it is doubtful." 

General Rosser did not attempt to establish himself there, 
but withdrew his force after a few hours, having destroyed 
many thousand dollars' worth of military stores and rail- 



664 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



road property. The next day the union troops returned 
and re-established the camp. Colonel Latham, who had 
given up the place almost without resistance, was relieved 
from dut} r and Colonel Fleming- placed in command, and 
remained there till January 12, 1865. 



CHAPTER LIX, 



<ro» 

CAPTAIN McNEILL'S COMPANY. 

The history of the McNeill IRangers would fill a volume, 
but only a few of the men were from Hampshire county, 
and it is impossible to give a full history of the company in 
this book. However, as some of the best soldiers in 
McNeill's command were from Hampshire, and as some 
of his most important movements were within Hampshire, 
countv, it is proper to give an account of the movements, 
some of which were the most remarkable in the war. The 
Hampshire men in his company numbered seventeen, as 
follows: Joseph L. Vas&iver, George Vandiver, J. W. 
Markwood, James Crawford, Isaac Oates, Herman Allen, 
W. H. Maloney, Patrick Kenney, Sanford Rollias, George 
Carroll, John C. High, John L. Harvey, Martin Ohaver, 
Thornton Neville, W. C. Bierkamp, George Markwood, 
James Welch. . 

la 1863 General Milroy was moving" his army dowi the 
South branch from the direction of Pendleton county, and 
had advanced into Hardy without meeting- amy rebels. He 
had a large wagon train, which moved in the middle of his 
army, half his troops being behind and half in front. Cap- 
tain McNeill, with sixty men, was a few miles below 
Moorefield, aad conceived the idea of attacking Milroy, but 
of course without any expectation of gaining any advant- 
age over him. He well knew that the federals would make 
quick work of his men if given the opportunity. He ac- 
cordingly selected a spot near Old Fields where he could 
attack and escape. When half of Milroy 's army had 
passed and the wagons were exposed, McNeill's raen made- 



666 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



a descent upon them, and captured forty-seven horses be- 
fore a general alarm was given. The union troops were 
taken as much by surprise as if an enemy had dropped 
from the clouds. Some of the teamsters were panic- 
stricken and cut their horses from the wagons asd mount- 
ing them, fied along with the rebels, is their confusion 
mistaking them for friends. Several were thus taken pris- 
oner. McNeill made his escape. 

Say Train Captured. — In 1865 the federal forces 
in Romne} T were in the habit of procuring- hay from Mill 
creek. It was known that bodies of confederates occasion- 
ally came mto the county, and as a precaution a guard was 
always sent with the wagons when they went after hay. 
Late in the winter a number of teams made tke usual trip, 
and a guard of about twenty-five men accompanied. The 
wag-ons proceeded to the vicinity of Moorefield Junction, 
where they loaded with hay and set cut upon tke return. 
Captain McNeill had been on tke lookout, and charged the 
train, scattering or capturing the g*uard, securing the 
horses and wagons, and taking several of the drivers pris- 
oner. It was impossible to carry the wagons away, so the 
horses and harness were taken and the wagons and hay 
were burned. 

Capture of Piedmont— On the night of May 3, 
1864, Captain McNeill, with sixty-one cavalry, set forward 
from near Moorefield with the design of burning the rail- 
road shops at Piedmont. He went by way of Elk Garden 
and Blooming-toe, and arrived within a mile of Piedmont 
at daybreak May 4. At that time a large force was at 
New Creek, fiye miles distant, and Colonel James A. Mulli- 
gan, w T ith a union force, was at Petersburg, ia the present 
county of Grant. At the moment when McNeill-reached 
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad a train, loaded with horses, 
was passing, and it refused to stop in obedience to orders. 
The engineer threw open the throttle and ran through at 
full speed. NcNeill saw a valuable prize escape. He left ten 



CAPTAIN M'NEILL'S COMPANY. 667 

men, under command of John C. Pierce, as a guard at 
Blooming-ton, and with the rest of iis command hastened 
Into Piedmont and set the railroad shops on fire. Before 
they could cut the wires, the a'arm was sent to New 
Creek. The columns of smoke from the burning- shops 
confirmed the report that the rebels had captured the 
town. While this was taking- place two freight trains came 
■down the Seventeen Mile grade from the west, and were 
run on the switch by the men under Pierce at Blooming- 
ton and set on fire. Scarcely had the match been applied 
to the freight cars when a passenger train, loaded with. 
United States troops, came thundering- in from the west. 
It stopped in obedience to a demand from Pierce. Captain 
Buck had command, and there were one hundred a&d three 
men under him. They had been on furlough and were 
returning- to the field. They kad guns but no ammuni- 
tion. 

When the train came to a stop, it was boarded by Pierce, 
who demanded an immediate surrender, threatening- to fire 
on the train with artillery in case of refusal. Captain Buck 
according-ly surrendered. The men were marched out, 
gave up their guns and were paroiled. When the captain 
learned that ke had surrendered to a squad of ten me.§, he 
vented his rage in the most tremendous oatks, and de- 
clared that had he known how few the rebels were he 
would have fought them with the butts of the guns. But 
it was then too late, and he submitted with great disgust. 
Among- the passengers on the captured train were the 
wife and two daughters of C-eneral Schenck. They were 
permitted to proceed on their jouraey. By the time the 
prisoners were paroiled, Captain McNeill had returned 
from Piedmont, one mile distant, and was preparing- to re- 
treat, for he knew he couid not hold the place against the 
force which would soon arrive from New Creek. The 
yankees came sooner than was expected. They k-p-pezr^d 
on the Maryland side of the river and opened fire with 



668 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



artillery and repeating - rifles, and made it too hot for Mc- 
Neill, who had several horses killed, bst saved his men by 
getting* out as quickly as possible. The union fire had 
one deplorable result, a somewhat common one in war — - 
several women and children, who were standing" in their 
yards watching" the soldiers, were wounded. McNeill 
made g-ood his retreat and was not pursued. He captured 
a number of horses from Henry G. Davis, who was at that 
tisne buying- horses for the government, and who after- 
wards represented "West Virginia in the United States. 
Senate. 

Four weeks after the capture of Piedmont — that is, June 
1, 1864 — Colonel Mulligan withdrew his force from Peters- 
burg". That was the last larg-e body of uaion troops to 
. occupy the upper part of the South brasck valley during 
the war, although other troops occasionally marched 
through it, remaining- a day or two. 

On June 25, 1864, a troop of federal cavalry passed 
through Romney on the way to Spring-field. Captain Mc- 
Neill followed down the South branch to the wire bridge 
and sent out scouts, v/ho discovered the federals in camp < 
near Springfield. They evidently were aot in fear of an 
attack, as they posted but few pickets, while the greater 
portion of them proceeded to take a batk in a brook near 
by. Their horses were turned into meadows in the vicin- 
ity. Seeing that he could strike tkem before they could, 
get into position to fight, Captain McNeill made a charge, 
drove in the pickets and broke into the camp. The union 
soldiers not only were unarmed, but most of them were 
* without clothes, and, after a vain endeavor to escape by 
flight, about sixty of them surrendered. McNeill captur- 
ed two hundred and forty horses, nearly all the arms in 
the camp and retreated up the South branch. 

On October 30, 1864, a cold and bleak day, McNeill's 
men made a dash to Green Spring, on the Baltimore and 
Ohio railroad, between Patterson creek and the South 



CAPTAIN M'NEILL'S COMPANY. 669 



branch, and surprised a company of union cavalry at that 
place. There was some resistance, but McNeill won the 
fight, capturing- eighteen prisoners and forty horses. 

The Wire Bridge^ Cut Down— On August 2, 
1864, the wire bridge which spanned the South branch at 
the lower Hanging Rocks, about eight miles below Rom- 

;: ney, was cut down by order of Captain McNeill, who had 
his orders from General Early. Twice before that time 
McNeill had been ordered to destroy the bridge; but not 
wishing to do so he had found excuses for disobeying or- 
ders, and the bridge remained unharmed. But about the 
time McCausland went on his raid, General Early sent a 
peremtpry order to McNeill to destroy the bridge. It was 
claimed bv the confederates that the citizens of that yicin- 
ity, who sympathized with the south, had frequently and 
urgently demanded that the bridge be destroyed, giving as 
their reason that yankee scouting parties and horse thieves 0 

i were in the habit of crossing the bridge to steal and plun- 
der. Be this as it may, McNeill destroyed the bridge. 
One of the cables was cut with an ax and the structure fell 
into the river. This was two days before McCausland 
came by on his retreat from Pennsylvania. Since the war 
there has been much controversy as to who was responsi- 

j ble for the destruction of the bridge. Captain McNeill 

; shifted the responsibility to General Early; General Early 
said the citizens in the vicinity had urged him to destroy 

| the bridge, aad he had given the order at their request. 

j| No citizen has been found since the war who can remem- 
ber that he ever made any such request or that he knew any- 

; thing about it till it was done. It is fortunate that -there 

, is a contemporaneous document showing how one of the 
prominent citizens felt on the subject. George W. Wash- 
ington, who lived just above there, and who kept a diary, 

; and who had kept it for thirty years, and who continued 

' to keep it several years after the war closed, made this 
entry in his book August 2, 1864: "I heard a lot of rebels 



670' 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



had gone down this morning- on their way to Cumberland. 
I met Michael Blue, who informed me the rebels had 
thrown down the wire bridg-e. When I got there, sure 
c&oug-h, I found it in the river. Wfiat could have induced 
so foolish an act is a mystery to me. They must have 
known it would be a great public loss. I wish, from the 
bottom of my heart, the originator of the thing- had been 
caught under it and sent to the bottom of ttoe river. I 
heard they were fighting" in Cumberland. About twelve 
o'clock there came a lot of Gilmor's men stealing- horses, 
and I expected to lose everything on the farm in the shape 
of a horse. They succeeded in getting- two, and finding 
they could not catch the others, the devils shot at them 
and tried to kill them. Here we are. The artillery camp- 
ing in my fields; the men stealing everything they can lay 
th^ir hands on. From the beginning they have made, they 
will leave us nothing. All the men below me, through 
whose neighborhoods they have passed, are here hunting 
horses they stole from them. They stole every horse they 
could find a& they passed up. So I am not alone." 

A Soldier Reading Prayers— Early in 1865 Col- 
onel Young of the union army, was passing down the South 
branch and a portion of his men stopped at the house of 
David T. Parsons, seven or eight miles above Romney. It 
happened that W. H. Maloney, one of McNeill's company, 
was in the house at the time. The federals wore gray 
clothes, and were mistaken for confederates until so near 
the house that escape was impossible. They were unusu- 
ally roug-h, and came in, flourishing their pistols and kick- 
ing doors open, threatening the people of the house, and 
demanding- money and jewelry. Mr. Maloney looked upon 
his case as hopeless, but he ran into a back room and shut 
the door. He wore a confederate coat, but had on citizens' 
pants. The case was urgent, and what he intended doing 
he must do quickly. He pulled off his coat and hid it, and 
picking up a prayer-book, threw himself on the lounge, and 



CAPTAIN M'NEILL'S COMPANY. 671 



began to read prayers with the apparent devotion of an 
octogenarian anchorite. At that moment a yankee kicked 
the door open and bolted in. Maloney sprang* up as though 
much surprised. "What command do you belong- to?" de- 
manded the soldier. "I don't belong to any command," 
replied Maloney, letting- the book fall, in not altogether 
feigned consternation. "Who are you?" demanded the 
soldier. Maloney gave some name. The soldier had a 
cocked revolver in his hand, and he demanded: "What 
are you doisg here?" "Working on the farm." With this 
the soldier punched Maloney in the face with his revolver 
and holding it to his head, said with an oath, "Give me your 
money." "I have no money." "What do you do with your 
moii^y if you are working on the farm?" "I support my 
mother with it." By this time another yankee had come, 
in, and was punching- Maloney in the ribs with a pistol and 
ordering him to give up his money. But the young rebel 
was lustily denying that he had any money, and was danc- 
ing about the room in such a lively manner that the yankees 
could sot get their hands in his pockets, although they 
were trying to do so. He was not concerned so much 
about his money as about certain letters which he was car- 
rying from citizens of Hampshire to soldiers in the south, 
and which would at once have betrayed his identity. 
Finally an officer in the outer room, seeing the soldiers be- 
setting him, ordered them to let him alone. They reluct- 
antly gave up their fight for his money and left the room. 
He thus made a narrow and unexpected escape. These 
were the soldiers who an hour later murdered Captain 
Stump. 

Captured and Recaptured —In May, 1864, a 

squa'd of federal cavalry made a raid up the South branch 
toward the Hardy county line, and captured several of 
McNeill's men who were caught some distance from camp. 
This was considered a valuable capture, for McNeill's 
command was genuinely hated by the federals. With 



672 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



their prisoners they retreated down the South branch, 
passed through Romney, and stopped a short distance 
above Springfield. In the meantime McNeill had collected 
lais men and gave pursuit, overtaking the federals at their 
camp, and after a sharp engagement, recaptured the pris- 
oners. 

45 



CHAPTER LX, 



«o> 

CROOK AND KELLEY CAPTURED, 

The capture of General Georg-e Crook and General B. F. 
Kelley, at Cumberland, Maryland, February 21, 1865, by 
the McNeill Rang-ers, was a remarkable performance, and 
attracted much attentiom. That sixty men could carry 
away two g'enerals, surrounded by an army of eig-fet thou- 
sand, was a subject for much wonder. The names of 
those who took part in the raid, so far as they are now re- 
membered, are X G. Lynn, G. S. Harness, J. W. Mason,. 
R. G. Lobb, H. P. Tabb, John Taylor, J. C. McNeill, I. S. 
Welton, William EL Haye, William H. Poole, J. W. Duff ey, 
I. S. Judy, Serg-eants C. J. Dailcy and John Cunning-ham, 
John Acker, J. W. Mark wood, D. E. Hopkins, Charles 
Nichols, Joseph A. Parker, Isaac Parsons, I. E. Oats, 
J. G. Showalter, J. W. Kuykendali, Benjamin E. Wotring-, 
G. F. Cunningham, I. H. Welton, John Mace, Mr. Tucker, 
F. W. Bean, J. W. Crawford, Georg-e H. Johnson, C. R. 
Hallar, W. H. Maloncy, Jacob Gassman, I. L. Harvey. 

"To enable the reader to form a correct idea of the mili- 
tary situation at the time, February 21, 1865, a slight 
retrospect at the outset is necessary," says J. B. Fay, one 
of the participants. "The debatable ground between the 
two opposing- armies in Nortkern Virginia ran parallel with 
the Potomac, and embraced, sometimes, the leng-th of two 
or more coumties southward. During- the latter part of the 
war this region was dominated by three famous confeder- 
ate partisan leaders — Mosby, Gilmor and McNeill. Their 
forces sometimes intermingled; but ordinarily the opera- 
tions of Mosby were confined to the country east of the 



674 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Shenandoah; those of Gilmor to the valley of Virg-in'ap 
while McNeill's special field of action lay to the westward r 
along- the upper Potomac and South branch. McNeill's 
command was composed principally of volunteers from 
Virginia and Maryland, thoug-h nearly every southern and 
not a few of the northern states had representatives in the 
ranks. Moorefield, on the South branch, was the princi- 
pal headquarters of this command. In a daybreak attack 
on a company of Pennsylvania cavalry, who were g-uarding- 
a bridg-e over the Shenandoah, near Mount Jackson, in the 
fall of 1864, Captain McNeill met his death. His son, 
Lieutenant Jesse C. McNeill, was next in command. 

u In February, 1865, Lieutenant McNeill consulted me 
about the feasibility of g-oing- into Cumberland and captur- 
ing- Genersls Kelley and Crook. After giving- McNeill 
every assurance that his design could be successfully car- 
ried out, he determined to make the attempt. I was com- 
missioned to proceed at once to Cumberland, or its vicin- 
ity, and prepare the way for our entry, by learning- the 
number and position of the picket posts, the exact location 
of the sleeping- apartments of both generals, and any 
other information deemed necessary. Selecting- C. R. 
Hallar as a comrade, I started. A few nig-hts after we left 
Moorefield found us upon the north bank of the Potomac, 
a few miles west of Cumberland. At this point the de- 
sired information was procured, and we retraced our 
steps. 

"Hallar was dispatched to intercept Lieutenant Mc- 
Neill, who, during- our absence, was to have twenty-five 
well-mounted men prepared to move leisurely in the direc- 
tion of Cumberland, ready to act on my report. At the 
time of which I write, six or eight thousand troops occu- 
pied the city. On the night of our entry, in addition to 
the resident commander (Major-General Kelley), General 
Crook, General Hayes (since president of the United 
States), General Lightburn and General Duvall were tern- 



CROOK AND KELLEY CAPTURED. 675 



porarily in the city. A greater harvest of generals might 
have been reaped had we been aware of the fact. At that 
time General Sheridan's army lay at Winchester, and a 
considerable force of federal troops were entrenched at 
New Creek, now Keyser. Both of these points are nearer 
Moorefield than Cumberland is. This shows the hazzard 
of a trip from our headquarters to Cumberland and the 
probability of being cut off. 

"When McNeill and partv arrived at the rendezvous, m 
addition to those of our own command, there were with 
him a number, probably a dozen, belonging to Company F 
of the Seventh and D of the Eleventh Virginia cavalry, of 
Rosser's brigade. The men and horses were fed and 
rested. The shades of that evening saw us upon our ride. 
Our route lay over Middle ridge, across the valley of Pat- 
terson creek, through the ridges beyond the base of Knobly. 
mountain, where, taking a northerly course we came to a 
narrow gap leading up to open fields on the mountain top- 
Passing up this gap, over an icy road, we found the fields 
above covered with snowdrifts of uncertain depth, which 
forced us to dismount and lead our struggling horses. 
Having reached the road through a lower gap to the Sey- 
mour farm, we quickly descended the mountain into the 
valley and crossed the Potomac into Maryland. 

"At this juncture Lieutenant McNeill held a council of 
war with some of us, and after saying that there was not 
time to reach Cumberland before daylight by the route laid 
down by me, the lieutenant proposed that that part of the 
expedition beabandoned. Butto preventthetrip from being 
an entire failure, he suggested that we should surprise and 
capture the pickets at the railroad station near by, at 
Brady's Mills. The prizes for which we had come so far 
were estimated by quality, not quantity, and a company of 
infantry was not considered a fair exchange for two major 
generals. His proposition met with an emphatic and al- 
most unanimous dissent. It is proper here to say that my 



676 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



route contemplated flanking- the neighboring- village of Cre-» 
saptown, moving on to the well-known National road and 
taking that thoroughfare, which was not picketed, to enter 
Cumberland from the northwest byway of the Narrows, 
a pass through Will's mountain. This would have 
doubled the distance to be traveled from the point where 
we passed the river, but it was the only prudent and 
reasonably safe route, and but for several unnecessary de- 
lays already made, for which Lieutenant McNeill himself 
was responsible, ample time had been left to pursue it. 
The fact then remained, however, as McNeill declared, 
that we could not then get to Cumberland by that route in 
the required time; and if we were to proceed further on 
our expedition we must take the shorter route, the New 
creek road, and try our chances by surprising and captur- 
ing the pickets on that road, and get into the city without 
giving the alarm. The attempt to pass quietly through 
two lines of pickets promised but doubtful results, but we 
determimed to try it. McNeill and Vandiver, followed by 
Kuykendall and myself, rode ahead as an advance guard, 
the rest of the troop, under Lieutenant I. S. Welton, keep- 
ing close behind. A layer of thin crusty snow was on the 
ground, and although it was an hour and a half till dawn, 
we could see very well for a short distance. The New 
creek road skirts the base of Will's mountain, running 
almost parallel with the railroad and river, and all three 
come close together at the mouth of a deep ravine. About 
two miles from Cumberland the road deflects to the left 
and winds up through a ravine and over the hill to tke city. 
A cavalry picket was stationed at the mouth of the ravine, 
and as we neared this point a solitary vidette was observed 
standing- on the roadside, and who, upon noticing- our ap- 
proach, gave the challenge: 'Halt! who comes there?' 
'Friends from New Creek,' was the response. He then 
said: 'Dismount one, come forward and give t&e counter- 
sign.' Without a word Lieutenant McNeill .put spurs to 



CROOK AND KELLEY CAPTURED. 



677 



his horse, dashed forward, and as he passed, being- unable 
to check his horse, fired his pistol in the man's face. We 
followed rapidly and secured the picket, whom we found 
terribly startled at the peculiar conduct of his alleged 
friends. Two comrades, acting- as a reserve, had been 
making- themselves cosy before a few embers under a tem- 
porary shelter in a fence corner about one hundred yards 
in the rear. Hearing- the commotion in front they hastily 
decamped toward the river. They g-ot no further than 
the railroad, however, for we were close upon them, and in 
response to our threats of shooting-, they halted and sur* 
rendered. Examining- them apart, and under threats of 
instant annihilation at the end of a halter, they gave the 
countersign for the nig-ht, which was 'Bull's Gap.' Mount- 
ing- these men upon their horses, which we found hitched 
nearby, we took them imto Cumberland and out again, 
when one was turned loose, without a horse, but richer in 
experience. 

"The imprudent action of Lieutenant McNeill in firisg 
a shot which might have caused a general alarm and forced 
us to abandon our design, created some displeasure among 
the men. Sharing in this feeling I insisted that Kuyken- 
dall and myself should take the advance in the approach to 
the next inner post. This was assented to, and we moved 
on with the determination that no more unnecessary firing 
should be indulg-ed in on our part. The second post was 
fully a mile away, over the high intervening- hill and located 
at the junction of the road we were on with the old Frost- 
burg pike. This post consisted of five men belonging to 
the First West 'Virginia infantry, who were comfortably 
ensconced in a shed behind a blazing log fire, and all bus- 
ily engaged at cards. As we drew near the circle of light 
one of the number was observed to get up, reach for his 
musket and advance in front of the fire to halt us. To his 
formal challenge Kuykendall answered: "Friends, with 
the countersign.' We kept moving up in the meantime, 



678 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



and when the command was given for one of us to dis- 
mount and give the countersign, I noticed an impatient 
movement among- our men in the rear; and to mislead the 
picket and enable us to get as near as possible before our 
intended dash was made, I shouted back in a loud voice: 
s Don't crowd up, men! Wait until we give the counter- 
sign. ' We did not find it necessary to give it, however. 
There was an open space around the picket post which al^ 
lowed no chance of escape, and we were close upon them. 
The next instant a swift forward dash was made, and, 
without a single shot, they were surrounded and captured. 
Their guns and ammunition were taken and destroyed, 
and they were left unguarded at their post, with strict in- 
structions to remain until our return. 

"On its face this would appear to have been a very un- 
wise thing, but it was the best we could do. We had no 
intention of returning that way; but we rightly trusted 
that before the men could realize the situation and get to 
where an alarm could be friven, our work in the city w T ould 
have been done. We were now inside the picket lines, and 
before us lay the slumbering cit^^. The troop was halted 
here for a short time while McNeill hastily told off two 
squads of ten men each, who were directly charged with 
the capture of the generals. Serg*eant Joseph W. Kuy- 
kendall, Company F, Seventh Virginia cavalry, a special 
scout for General Early, and a soldier of great courage 
and coolness, w T ho had once been a prisoner in Kelly's 
hands and had a personal acquaintance with him, was 
placed in command of the men detailed to secure that gen- 
eral. To Sergeant Joseph L. Vandiver, a man of imposing 
fig-ure and style, was given the charge of capturing Gen- 
eral Crook. 

"An interesting fact in connection with this affair is that 
among- the number detailed to capture General Crook was 
Jacob Gassman, a former clerk in the hotel where General 
Crook lodged, and whose uncle then owned the buildings 



CROOK AND KELLER CAPTURED. 679 



and Sergeant Charles James Dailey, whose father was 
landlord at the time, and whose sister, Mary, afterwards 
became Mrs. Crook, and was probably then his fiancee. 
The duty of destroying- the telegraph lines was intrusted 
to me, while Hallar and others were detailed as my assist 
ants. These preliminaries being- arranged, we moved on 
down the pike, rode into Green street and around the court 
house hill; then over the chain bridge across Will's creek 
and up Baltimore street, the principal thoroughfare of the 
city. Taking in the situation as they rode along, the men 
occupied themselves whistling such yankee tunes as they 
knew, and bandying words with isolated patrols and 
guards that occasionally passed. - Some of our men were 
disg*uised in federal overcoats, but in the dim light no 
difference could be noticed in the shades of light blue and 
gray. 

"Part of the men w r ere halted in front of the Barnum 
house, afterwards the Windsor hotel, where General Kel- 
ley slept, and the others rode on to the Revere house, where 
General Crook reposed in fancied security. A sentry 
paced up and down in front of the respective headquarters, 
but took little notice of our movements, evidently taking 
us for a scouting party coming in to report. J. G. Lvnn 
of Kuykendall's squad, was the first to reach the pavement, 
where he captured and disarmed the sentry, who directed 
the party to the sleeping apartments of General Kelley. 
Entering the hotel the party first invaded a room on the 
second floor, which proved to be that of the adjutant gen- 
eral, Melvin. Arousing him, they asked where General 
Kelley was, and was told that he was in the adjoining- 
apartment, a communicating room, the door of which was 
open, and they entered at once. When General Kelley was 
awakened, he was told that he was a prisoner, and was 
requested to make his toilet as speedily as possible. With 
some degree of nervousness the old g-eneral complied, in- 
quiring as he did so, to whom he was surrendering*. Kuy- 



680 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



kendall replied: 'To Captain McNeill, by order of General 
Rosser.' Pie had little more to say after this, and in a very 
short space of time both he and Adjutant Melvin were 
taken down into the street and mounted on horses, the 
owners of which courteously gave the prisoners the sad- 
dle, and rode behind. In this manner they were taken out 
of Cumberland, but as soon thereafter as separate horses 
could be procured, they were given them. 

"At the Revere house an almost identical scene took 
place. The sentry having- been taken and disarmed, the 
capturing- party ascended the stone steps of the hotel and 
found the outside door locked. The door was opened by 
a small colored boy and the party entered. The boy was 
greatlv alarmed at the brusque manner of the unexpected 
g-uests, whom he evidently suspected of improper inten- 
tions. When asked if General Crook was in the hotel, he 
said: 'Yes, sah, but don't tell 'em I told you,' and he after- 
wards made the inquiry: 'What kind o' men are you all,, 
anyhow?' V/hile Yandiver and Dailey were getting- a light 
in the office below, Gassmaa went to No. 46, General 
Crook's apartment, and thinking the door was locked,, 
knocked at it several times. A voice within asked: 'Who's, 
there?' Gassman replied: 'A friend," and was told to 
come in. Yandiver, Tucker and Dailey arrived by this 
time and all four entered the room. Approaching the bed 
where the general lay, Yandiver said in a pompous man- 
ner, 'General Crook, you are my prisoner.' 'What author- 
ity have you for this?' inquired the general. 'The author- 
ity of General Rosser, of Fitzhugh Lee's division of Cav- 
alry,' said Vandiver in response. Crook then rose up in 
bed and asked: 'Is General Rosser here?' 'Yes,' replied 
Yandiver, 'I am General Rosse'". We have surprised and 
captured the town.' That settled the matter as far as the 
bona hde general was concerned. He was immensely sur- 
prised at the bold announcement, but knowing- nothing* to 
the contrary, accepted Yandiver 's assertion as the truth* 



CROOK AND KELLEY CAPTURED. 



681 



He submitted to his fate with as much grace and cheerful- 
ness as he could muster. Speaking- to me afterwards of 
nis sensations at the time, the general said: 'V&ndiver 
was just such a looking- person as I supposed Rosser to be, 
and I had no reason to doubt the truth of his statement. I 
Was very much relieved, however, when I learned the real 
situation and that the city and garrison had not been 
taken.' " 

When the sidewalk was reached a clerk in the hotel, 
who had evidently been asleep and had just awakened, 
came out on the sidewalk with a lantern, and holding- it up 
to get a g-ood look, asked: 'How many Johnnies have you 
g-ot, boys?' He quickly realized that he had mad* a mis- 
take. Joha Taylor snatched his hat off his head; John 
Cunningham ran through his pockets; while W. H. Ma- 
loney caught him by the back and jerked his overeat over 
his head. They left him standing dumbfounded. 

"General Kelley aod his adjutant were taken some time 
before General Crook was brought out and moumted; but 
when this was finally done, and headquarters and other 
flags were finally secured, the entire party rode down Bal- 
timore street ia a quiet and orderly manner to the chain 
bridge. A large stable was located here, and from this 
several fine horses were taken, among- them 'Philippi,* 
General Kelly's charger, which kad been given him by the 
West Virg-inia soldiers, in honor of his yictory over Colonel 
Porterfield at Philippi. The taking of the horses caused 
some delay, which greatly excited Lieutenant McNeill, 
who, calling for me, ordered that I should lead them out 
of the city at once. Turning the column to the left, I led 
it down Canal street and on to the canal bank, where, a few 
hundred yards below, we came unexpectedly upon a dozen 
or more guards, whom we surrounded and captured. We 
destroyed their guns and ammunition, but did not encum- 
ber ourseves with more prisoners. From this point the 
column went at a gallop down the tow path, until halted by 



682 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

the picket posted at the canal bridge, a mile below town, 
on the road to Wiley's ford. The column not halting-, one 
-of the pickets w T as heard to say: 'Sergeant, shall I fire?* 
when Vandiver, who was in front, shouted: 'If you do, I'll 
place you under arrest. This is General Crook's body 
g-uard, and we have no time to w 7 aste. The rebels are 
coming, and we are going- out to meet them.' This expla- 
nation seemed satisfactory. We passed under the bridge, 
beyond the picket post, which was the enemy's outmost 
guard, and crossed the Potomac. We were four or five 
miles aw r ay before the boom of a cannon was heard, giving* 
the alarm." 

General Crook was riding bareback. When they 
were well across the Potomac, he called to W. H. Maloney 
and asked him to ride ahead and g*et a saddle, remarking 
that he was very tired. Maloney said he did not know 
where to get one. To this General Crook replied: 'Take 
one from the first man you meet, and tell him that General 
Crook ordered you to do it.' Maloney dashed ahead to 
Jacob Kyle's, and, waking him, told him he wanted a sad- 
dle for General Crook. Mr. Kyle answered: 'Your men 
took the only saddle I had yesterday.' 'We are not yan- 
kees,' said Mr. Maloney. 'General Crook is a prisoner. I 
will search your house, and if I find you are lying to me, I 
will burn your house.' 'The saddle is on the porch m a 
flour barrel,' replied Mr. Kyle. Mr. Maloney got it, and 
General Crook had to ride bareback no longer. 

"Sixty rugged miles intervened between us and safety, 
but I doubt if there was a man in the troop but now felt at 
his ease. Elated, proud and happy, all rode back that morn- 
ing over the snow-clad Virginia hills. Our expedition had 
been a grand success, and every wish w 7 as realized. A 
mounted force from Cumberland, in pursuit, came in sig'ht 
on Patterson's creek, but kept at a respectful distance in 
the rear until after we had passed Romney, when they 
pressed upon our guard, but upon the exchange of a few 



CROOK AND KELLEY CAPTURED. 



683 



shots they retired. On reaching- the Moorefield yalley a 
detachment of the Ring-gold cavalry, sent from New Creek 
to intercept us, came in sight. We were on opposite sides 
of the river, in full view of each other, and soon our tired 
horses were being- urged to their utmost speed, the feder- 
als endeavoring- to reach Moorefield and cut off our retreat, 
while our great desire was to pass through the town with 
our prisoners and captured flags, and exhibit to our friends 
and sweethearts the fruits of our expedition and the tro- 
phies of our success. 

"It soon became evident, however, that the fresher 
horses of the other side would win the day. Convinced 
that the town could not be reached and safely passed, Mc- 
Neill suddenly led his men into the woods skirting the 
road, and taking a well-known trail, passed through the 
ridges east of Moorefield to a point of security seven miles 
above, where we camped for the night. In the preceding 
twenty-four hours we had ridden ninety miles over hill and 
valley, mountain and stream, with very little rest or food 
ior men or horses. Our prisoners received the best possi- 
ble care and attention, and early the next morning pursued 
their enforced march to Richmond by way of General 
Early's headquarters at Staunton." 

On February 24, 1865, General R. E. Lee sent the fol- 
lowing dispatch to the war department of the Southern 
Confederacy: "General Early reports that Lieutenant 
McNeill, with thirty men, on the morning of the twenty- 
first, entered Cumberland, captured and brought out Gen- 
erals Crook and Kelley, the adjutant-general of the depart- 
partment, two privates and the headquarters' flags with- 
out firing a g*un, though a considerable force is in the vi- 
cinity." 

The following dispatch was sent from Cumbtrland by 
Major Kennedy to General Sheridan, at Winchester, within 
a few hours after McNeill's men had left the city: "About 
three o'clock this morning a party of rebel horsemen came 



684 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



up on the New Creek road, about sixty in number. They 
captured the picket and quietly rode into town, went di- 
rectly to the headquarters of Generals Crook and Kelley,. 
sending a couple of men to each place to overpower the 
headquarters guard, when they went directly to the room 
of General Crook and, without disturbing- anybody else in 
the house, ordered him to dress, and took him downstairs 
and placed him on a horse, saddled and waiting. The 
same was done to General Kelley. While this was being 
done, a few of them, without creating any disturbance, 
opened one or two stores, but they left without waiting to 
take anything. It was done so quietly that others of us 
who were sleeping in adjoining rooms to General Crook 
were not disturbed. The alarm was given in ten minutes 
by a darkey watchman at the hotel, who escaped from 
them, and within an hour we had a party of fifty cavalry 
after them. They tore up the telegraph lines, and it re- 
quired more than an hour to get them in working order. 
As soon as New Creek could be called, I ordered a force to 
be sent to Romney, and it started without any unnecessary 
delay. A second force has g-one from New Creek to Moore- 
field, and a regiment of infantry has gone to supply the 
place of the cavalry. They rode good horses, and left at 
a very rapid rate, evidently fearful of being overtaken* 
They did not remain in Cumberland over ten minutes- 
From all information, I am inclined to believe that instead 
of Rosser, it is McNeill's company. Most of the men of 
that company are from this place." 

General Sheridan sent four hundred cavalry across the 
mountains from Winchester in the direction of Moorefield, 
in hope of capturing McNeill and releasing the prisoners; 
but no success attended the expedition. McNeill was in 
the mountains and eluded his pursuers, who were trying 
to close in on him from four directions. 




CHAPTER LXL 

<r03> 

CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR, 

On the day of the capture of Generals Crook and Kelley, 
a daring- but successful charge was made in tke streets of 
Rornney by two confederates of Company D, Robert Moore- 
head and John Urton. The cavalry which had pursued 
McNeill from Cumberland gave up the pursuit a few miles 
south of Rornney, and the men returned to Cumberland. 
Their horses were very tired and stragglers were plenti- 
ful. A few of them remained awhile in town after the 
main body had passed down the road toward Cumberland. 
At that moment Robert Moorehead and John Urton came 
in on the Winchester road, on a scout. Tke union cavalry 
saw tkem, and supposed they were the frost of a column 
and galloped off. Urton and Moorehead followed, and ob- 
serving that two of the yankees could not keep up with 
their comrades, determined to take them. Their horses 
being fresh they gained upon the yankees, wko left the 
road to take a short cut across the fields, and ran their 
horses into a snow drift and stuck fast. They surrendered 
and were parolled. One of them proved to be Lieutenant 
Luther Griffith, who for many years afterward was cashier 
of a Cumberland bank. 

A Young Soldier's Escape— On February 5, 
1865, when Colonel Young, in charge of a division of Gen- 
eral Custer's troops, made a dash into Rornney, there were 
many southern sympathizers who were taken by surprise. 
Among them was V. M. Poling. He had come home on 
furlough to see his parents who lived m Rornney. He was 
sitting by the fire reading when his father came hurriedly 



686 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



in and announced with considerable excitement that the 
town was full of yankees. Mr. Poling-, the elder, had 
always been a union man, although two of his sons were in 
the confederate army. The young- soldier had no chance 
to escape by flight; but provision had been made for just 
such an emergency. The old log- kitchen, built perhaps in 
the days of the Revolutionary war, had a log cut partly ofi% 
making a small opening by which it was supposed a man 
could crawl under the floor. Mr. Poling made for the hole 
as the yankee cavalry galloped up the street. He tried to 
crawl in but could not push his shoulders through. The 
ostrich pokes its head in the sand and thinks it is hid. 
Not so with Mr. Poling. Although his head was in the 
hole he knew he was not out of sight. With the courage of 
despair he pulled off his coat and jacket, and by a super- 
human squeeze he pushed through. His sister, with pres- 
ence of mind suited to the occasion, covered the opening 
w 7 ith boards. He remained in his cold quarters about two 
hours, and nearly froze. The yankees had left town by 
that time, and he undertook to crawl out. But either he 
had grown larger or the hole was smaller, for he could not 
get through no matter which way he turned or how per- 
sistently he squeezed. They brought him a saw and a 
chisel, and after chipping an hour or two he was again able 
to emerge from his hiding- place. 

Remarhable Record. — Near the close of the war 
the records of the confederacy at Richmond showed that 
McNeill's company up to that time had captured more than 
twenty-six hundred prisoners. That was about thirty 
persons for each man in active service in the command. 
The number in the company was not always the same. 
Sometimes it was more, sometimes less; but usually there 
were between sixty and seventy men in active service with 
McNeill. Perhaps no better illustration is furnished in 
the whole history of the United States of the efficiency of 
a small band, operating in a rugged country, full of hiding 



CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR. 



places and natural defenses. Against such a. force num- 
bers are sent in vain. A rapid retreat over mountain trails 
baffles pursuit; while the ability to strike unexpected blows, 
suddenly and with every advantage of position, makes the 
situation of the pursuing- forces always one of danger. 
McNeill and his men knew every trail. They might be 
hemmed in on every road, as was the case when they were 
carrying Generals Crook and Kelley away as prisoners in 
1865, yet they could leave all roads and take to the woods, 
bidding defiance to twenty times their numbers. They 
carried no baggage except what was tied to the saddles. 
Every man conducted his own advance and retreat. Yet 
all acted in concert. If scattered, they vanished among 
the hills and woods, and reassembled at well-known ren- 
dezvouses. They could make marches which surprised vet- 
erans; could appear and disappear here, there and every- 
where with such celerity of movement that the most care- 
fully planned efforts to resist or intercept were always 
defeated. It has been a mystery how they operated so 
long, so successfully, in a territory often occupied by over- 
whelming- forces of the enemy; and yet they seldom or 
never made a miscalculation or a fatal blunder. "Whether 
they w T ere assailants or acting upon the defensive, they 
were equally successful. Although they did an almost in- 
credible amount of fighting - , they lost few men. Their 
policy was to select their point of attack and then strike 
so suddenly that resistance came too late. The citizens of 
the country in which they operated were nearly all friendly 
. with McNeill and gave him information whenever they 
could. Without this source of information he must have 
failed very often in his undertakings. 

Surrender of McNeill. — McNeill's men surren- 
dered soon after General Eee. It was arranged that they 
should lay down their arms on the South branch above 
Romney. A company of federals from New. Creek met 
them for that purpose. Two or three officers and a half 



688 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



dozen men crossed the river where McNeill's men were, 
while the main body of the company remained on the north 
side. There was no unnecessary ceremony. The con* 
federates threw down their arms and were parolled. The 
implements of war piled on the ground looked as if they 
had come out of a museum a hundred years old. They 
were flint-locks, broken-stocks, bent-barrels, no ramrods, 
Irig-g-erless, rusty, big*, little, horse-pistols, deringers, pep- 
perboxes, choke-boras, and others beyond description. 
The federal officers were aware that these were not the 
guns with which McNeill's men had done their fighting". 
They had hidden their good guos and had gathered up 
these superannuated, pre-r evolutionary traps in junk-shops 
and garrets and were surrendering- them for form's sake. 
A competent judge who saw the arms piled on the ground 
declared they were not worth tea dollars a ton. However 
the yankees hauled them to New Creek. 

After they had thrown down their worthless guns, one 
of McNeill's men asked the union officers: ''What would 
be the result if I would keep a little powder to shoot coons 
and such thing's, and it should be found in my house, and an 
old shotgun or something-?" The officer told him it would 
g-o hard with him if he went to bushwhacking*. To this 
the soldier replied: "I won't hurt any of you fellows, 
but the Swamp Dragons from North Fork better not come 
fooling- around me." The Swamp Dragons were the union 
guerrillas who infested the mountain fastnesses around 
the headwaters of the South branch and Cheat river. Be- 
tween them and McNeill's men there was war to the death. 
Neither side asked or gave quarters. 

By the terms agreed upoa between General Lee and 
General Grant, the confederates were permitted to keep 
their horses, but must surrender their arms and equipage. 
This rule was understood to apply to McNeill's men as 
well as to the others. A controversy arose at the time of 
McNeill's surrender ass to how for this understanding - 

46 



CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR. 



689 



should go. Everyone of the men rode a United States sad- 
dle, captured in battle, and had United States blankets, 
and full outfits taken as spoils of war. The federal officers 
insisted that those should be given up; and McNeill said 
he would not surrender them, as he did not intend that his 
men should ride home bareback. The discussion of this 
point became so animated that it threatened to cause 
trouble. The federal officer was firm in his demand that 
the saddles and blankets should be given up, and McNeill 
was equally positive that they should not be given up. 
Finally McNeill declared that he would not surrender at 
all unless permitted to keep the saddles. It might be pre- 
sumed that the confederates, having already surrendered 
their arms, were powerless to resist, and that they were 
in no position to enforce their demand that they retain 
their saddles. But such was the case in appearance onhy, 
and the union officers knew it very well. McNeill's men 
had at that time revolvers under their coats, and the 
pistols were so poorly concealed that the federals had 
no doubts on the subject. Add to this the fact that the 
river was deep, and that a small skiff was the only means 
of crossing, and that the main part of the small union force 
was on the other side, and it can be seen that the federal 
officers who had crossed over to parol the men were really 
in the power of McNeill, and knew it. Of course, if the 
confederates had resisted, it would have gone hard with 
them in the end, for they must have been captured sooner 
or later. But the federal captain made a merit of neces- 
sity and permitted the men to keep their saddles and 
equipage. They rode off and disbanded, and the famous 
McNeill company had ceased to exist and had taken its 
place in history. 

The Timber Ridge Bobbers.— During the war, 
in Hampshire county, there was an organized band of 
thieves and robbers with headquarters on Timber ridge, 
but with places of meeting in various other parts of the 



690 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



country, in Morgan and Berkeley counties, and occasion- 
ally in Hardy. They did not belong- to either army, and 
were outlawed by both. They numbered from fifteen to 
twenty, and robbed whenever and wherever they could, 
and sold their plunder wherever a buyer could be found. 
The were despised by the soldiers and dreaded by the cit- 
izens. Their hand was against every man, and every man's 
hand against them. The result was that they brought de- 
struction upon themselves. One by one they were killed, 
some by soldiers and others, perhaps by citizens, until 
only a few were left and the gang* was broken up. 

Degenerate Warfare. — War is degenerating in 
its effect. It is destructive of morality as well as of physical 
force. It is savagery that cannot be disguised in the most 
civilized country. Men accustomed to scenes of carnage 
and destruction grow to have smaller and smaller regard 
for the rights of man as they are understood in time of 
peace. This was illustrated in Hampshire county near 
the close of the war. The longer the conflict continued 
the less were personal rights considered. At first the 
property of citizens was taken or destroyed under the plea 
of military necessity; but later in the conflict the taking of 
property degenerated into highway robbery. This should 
not be applied to all the soldiers on both sides, nor to a ma- 
jority on either side; for there were many, both northern 
and southern, who came out of the army as they went in, 
honest, conscientious soldiers. But pillage and robbery 
grew alarmingly frequent toward the close of the war. 
Soldiers entered private houses and compelled citizens to 
give up their money and jewelry. Numerous instances of 
this could be cited. Indeed, families in this county found 
it necessary to keep their valuables hidden. Hampshire 
was on the border during the whole war. Its war was that 
of the frontier. It was considered doubtful ground by 
both sides. It was first in possession of the federals and 
then the confederates. Neither could hold it or protect it 



CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR. 



691 



from incursions and raids from the other. Thus, it ex- 
perienced all the horrors of frontier warfare. It has been 
remarked by one who knew the situation that, had the war 
continued much longer, Hampshire would have been like 
Kansas in its border troubles and the carbine and the re- 
volver would have been the only recognized law. 

Last Armed Confederates in Eomnei/.—When 
Lee surrendered, in April, 1865, General Rosser, with a 
considerable force, made his escape, avoided the numerous 
federal detachments with which the country was filled and 
reached Lynchburg, Virginia, without any serious opposi- 
tion. From there he proceeded toward Staunton, making 
his way through a country devastated by war. He saw 
that further resistance was useless and dismissed his men, 
each regiment being left free to do what seemed best. 
Each regiment broke up into companies, and each com- 
pany pursued its way. There was a vague notion among 
the men that General Johnston, in North Carolina, would 
still hold out, and he was looked upon as the general 
around whom the scattered soldiers should rally. Some 
started to join him, but there was no concert of movement. 
Two Hampshire companies that had escaped with Rosser 
came through to Romney. They had shaped their course 
for home, without any definite plans for the future. So 
long as they were on the road and in motion, they did not 
find it necessary to decide on future movements; but when 
they reached home and found themselves at their journey's 
end, the time had come to decide. The two companies 
met in front of the court house in Romney to deliberate 
whether they would surrender or endeavor to reach Gen- 
eral Johnston. The members were about equally divided 
among those who wished to lay down their arms and those 
who were still for war. Few who marched away with 
the companies at the beginning of the war were among 
those who came back. The troop was one of the remnants 
of a powerful army, which had fought as long as there 



692 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



was hope. The two Hampshire companies wished to act 
in concert, all make their way to Johnston or all surrender. 
They could not agree, and the dispute ran so high that 
they almost fell to fighting- among- themselves. About that 
time, however, news was received that Johnston had sur- 
rendered, and there was no long-er an army around which 
to rally. The Hampshire companies thereupon went to 
Winchester and surrendered. This was the last armed 
confederate force to occupy Romney. The town changed 
hands fifty-six times during- the war. 

The Confederate Monument. — It is believed that 
the first decoration of confederate graves and the first 
monument erected to the confederate dead are credited to 
Hampshire county. Immediately after the war, while the 
southern sympathizers were still under the ban, and were 
not allowed to vote or hold office, the people of Hampshire, 
at the risk of incurring the displeasure of the federal au- 
thorities, raised money and built a monument to the mem- 
ory of their dead who guve their lives in the cause of the 
south. The idea originated in the house of Colonel Robert 
White, in the early spring- of 1866. It Tras discussed by 
Colonel and Mrs. White, Captain C. S. White, Miss Bessie 
J. Schultze, who afterwards became the wife of Captain 
White, and Miss Fannie White, now Mrs. S. L. Flournoy. 
Others afterwards became interested, and the project was 
discussed and a course of procedure decided upon. The 
first public meeting- was held in Romney in the spring- of 
1866; a constitution was adopted and the association went 
to work, appointed committees and arrang-ed to decorate 
the graves of confederates. The decoration took place 
June 1, 1866, in Indian Mound cemetery. The graves have 
been decorated every year since. Few persons attended 
the first decoration, because the people were afraid. 
Many persons refrained from taking- part in the work of 
erecting the monument because they were afraid of incur- 
ring- the displeasure of the federal authorities. There 

47 



CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR. 693 



were others who were expected to assist, but who refused 
to do so; but the workers who were not afraid kept at it. 
Funds were solicited; a sewing- circle was held; a fair was 
held; and money was turned into the treasury at an en- 
couraging- rate. On October 15, 1866, there was on hand 
$1,170.91, of which $421.58 was appropriated to the relief of 
the orphans of confederate soldiers. Other public exhibi- 
tions were given, and on June 6, 1867, it was resolved to 
proceed with the erection of the monument. In July the 
committee considered three inscriptions, one of which 
spoke of the soldiers as having- "died in defense of what 
thev believed to be right;" another one being- "our sons 
and brothers, who fell as soldiers in the confederate 
army;" the third, which was adopted and was engraved on 
the monument, was in these words: "The Daug-hters of 
Old .Hampshire Erect this Tribute of Affection to Her 
Heroic Sons Who Fell in Defense of Southern Rights." 
On September 26, 1867, the monument was dedicated with 
appropriate!' ceremonies. It cost the association about 
fourteen hundred dollars in money, besides larg-e donations 
in labor. It was made in Baltimore, is twelve feet high 
and is made of white marble. The names of the dead are 
engraved upon it. A number of those who fell in battle 
are not represented on the monument, because it was not 
known to a certainty that they were dead when the monu- 
ment was made. The list of dead is as follows : 

Captains — G. F. Sheetz, A. Smith, G. W. Stump, J. M. 
Lovett. 

Lieutenants — M. Blue, J. Buzzard, J. Earsom, H. Engle, 
W. F. Johnson, J. N. Moorehead, F. D. Sherrard, Rev. J 
S. Reese. 

Sergeants — B. W. Armstrong, J. C. Leps, G. Cheshire. 
Privates— A. T. Pugh, J. W. Park, S. Park, J. W. Po- 



694 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



land, J. Peer, R. J. Parran, C. Parran, H. Powell, N. Pow- 
tiall, J. W. Ream, G. W. Ruckman, L. Spaid, P. Stump, 

H. Senoff, A. Shingleton, J. Stewart, S. Swisher, E. Gaylor, 
M. Taylor, J. Taylor, E. P. Ward, I. Wolfe, J. Washing- 
ton, M. Watkins, H.Wilson, G. Shoemaker, L. D. Shan- 
holtzer, J. Strother, W. Unglesbee, B. Wills, J. Haines, 
J. F. Hass, M. Harmison, A. Hollenback, G. Hott, E. Hart- 
ley, B. Hare, — . Householder, M. V. Inskeep, J. Johnson, 
J. H. Johnson, T. Keely, J. Kern, S. Loy, E. Milleson, O. 
Milleson, S. Mohler, F. M. Myers, J. W. Marker, T. Mc- 
Graw, I. Mills, J. Merritt, J. W. Pugh, O. V. Pugh, J. 
Kump, M. Orndorff, S. McCauley, L. Snodgrass, J. Pugh, 
V. Kump, P. Noland, J. Rudolph, J. M. Reese, M. V. Reid, 
W. O. Lupton, J. Noreland, J. Starns, F. C, Sechrist, G. W. 
Strother, J. D. Adams, I. P. Armstrong-, E. Allen, J. W. 
Baker, H. Baker, J. W. Barley, H. Bird, W. J. Blue, T. T. 
Brooks, R. Brown, J. W. Boro, I. D. Carroll, J. Cupp, J. S. 
Davis, J. A. Daily, J. Davy, S. Engly, J. Floury, J. Furlow, 

I. V. Gibson, R. C. Grace, T. T. Gross, R. Gill, J. P. 
Greitzner, A. Haines, J. J. Arnold, F. Abee, A. J. Baker, 
William Baker, J. Bumgarner, Morgan Brill, Mat Brill, G. 
Delaplains, J. Doughett, J. Engie, C. Garvin, G. R. Garvin, 
J. Hammock, T. Harrison. 

As far as can be gathered from the minute-book, which 
is incomplete, the following have been the officers of the 
association: 

Presidents — Mrs. Robert White, Mrs. Abraham Smith, 
Mrs. J. P. Wilson, Mrs. J. L. Vance, Mrs. G. W. Parsons. 

Vice-Presidents — Mrs. Margaret V. Taylor, Miss Mi- 
randa Taylor, Mrs. C. E. Blue, Mrs. C. S. White, Mrs. J. 
L. Vance, Mrs.' John J. Inskeep. 

Secretaries — Misses Bessie J. Schultze, Tillie Kern, 
Mary V. Foote, Ellen Kane, Mary Heiskell, Lou Mc- 
Carty. 

Treasurers — Mrs. J. D. Armstrong, Mrs. Michael Blue, 
Miss Virginia Parsons, Mrs. Julius Waddle. 



CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR. 695 



It would be impossible to give the names of all persons 
who contributed labor and money to build the monument; 
but it is no injustice to those omitted to name as worthy of 
special notice the following*: Mrs. James D. Armstrong - , 
Mrs. James N. Morehead, Misses Susie M. Pancake, Susie 
Poling-, Louise Greitzner, Lizzie Inskeep, Lieutenant C.W. 
Pattie, D. W. Endler. 



PART III. 
Family Sketches, 



Family Sketches* 



DAVID C. AGNEW, of Mill Creek district, son of Samuel K. and Sarah G. Agnew; born 
at Birmingham, Pennsylvania, May 5, 1847, of Scotch and Irish ancestry ; a plasterer; married, 
1869, to a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Hartman, of Hampshire County ; children, John 
W., Floyd D., Susan N., Martha M. 

FBANK P. ALLEN, of Mill Creek district ; a merchant; born in 1860; son of Mr. and Mrs. 
Judge Allen ; of German ancestry ; married, 1887, to Lucy, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred 
Taylor, of Moorefield; children, Alfred T., Caroline K., and Lucy V. Mr. Allen married twice, 
the second time to Annie, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Hartman. He owns twelve hun- 
dred and sixty-five acres of land. 

DANIEL ARNOLD, son of Zachariah and Elizabeth Arnold, was born eight miles west of 
Bomney, in what is now Mineral County, in the year 1838. He now resides on Beaver Bun, in 
Mineral County, on the Beaver farm, from whom the Bun takes its name. His ancestors came 
from Germany about one hundred and fifty years ago. On December 14, 1859, he was married 
to Sallie Ludwick, of Hampshire County. Thev have seven children living and two dead. 
They are Ann F. B., George E. E., Mary T. B., EfiBe M. W., Sallie N. W., James H. T., and Daniel 
A. Z. The oldest and the youngest are dead. In 1876 Mrs. Arnold died, and Mr. Arnold mar- 
ried Mary Ann Keys Tutwiler, of Hampshire, daughter of Martin Tutwiler. 

ULYSSES S. ANDEBSON, engaged in saw-mill and carpenter business, resides near Capon 
Bridge; son of Benjamin F. and Bacbel Anderson; German and Irish ancestry; born 1872; 
married Cordelia S., daughter of Theodore and Martha Larrick, 1893. Their child's name is 
Pearl V. 

LEWIS ABNOLD, carpenter, eon of A. and Mary Arnold, English descent, was born in 
Capon, 1828 ; married Emeline, daughter of Enos and Bosanna Spaid, 1852 ; children, Emma A., 
Miranda I., Mary F., Sarah C, Iven C, Maggie V., Albert S., and Edward T. He was three months 
in the Confederate service. 

EDWAED T. ABNOLD, farmer of Capon, son of Lewis and Emeline Arnold, Irish and Eng- 
lish descent, was born 1858; married Nellie, daughter of John and Elizabeth Lafollette, 1886. 
Tbeir daughter's name is Naomi. He resides on a farm of eighty acres. 

ALFOBD ANDEBSON, farmer of Capon, son of Amos and Sarah Anderson, English ancestry, 
was born 1839 ; married Jemima, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Bumgarner, 1870 ; children, 
Hunter S. and Carlmy H. Mr. Anderson served four years in the Confederate army; in Imbo- 
den's cavalry, and nine months a prisoner. 

ALFOBD S. ANDERSON, farmer of Capon district, son of Paul P. and Maria Anderson, was 
born 1834; English and German ancestry; married Mary F., daughter of Bobert and Mary Hook, 
1865 ; children, Armintha M., Martha M., Mary J., Angie M., and L. H. Mr. Anderson's farm 
of five hundred and forty acres was one of the first settled in the county. It was first occupied 
by Paul McKeever. 

BUSSELL C. ANDEBSON, by occupation a carpenter and saw-mill man, son of Benjamin 
F. and Bachel Anderson, was born 1856; German and English ancestry ; married Lillie, daugh- 
ter of Bobert H. and Sarah E. Lang, 1887 ; children, Lisle C, Claud R., and Boy B. 

W. S. ALKIBE, farmer of Gore district, son of Peter and Alcinda Alkire, was born of Eng- 
lish ancestry, 1848 ; married, 1872, to a daughter of Mordecai and Julia A. Orndorff ; children, 
Charles W., Theodore H., Truman R., Annie E., Edward V., Virgil F., Gertrude C. M., Minnie M., 
Bertha L., Edith M., and Golda F. 

I. V. ALDERTON, of Paw Paw, tanner by trade, son of William H. aud Rebecca F. Alder- 
ton, was born, 1870, in Hampshire; English ancestry; married 1890. Their child's name is 
N. P. Alderton. 

ROBERT E. L. ABNICK, farmer of Gore, son of Jacob and Jane Arnick, was born in Fred- 
erick County, 1870; Irish parentage ; married, 1894, Fannie, daughter of James aud Jane Moore- 
head ; children, Sadie M. and Bertie V. 




699 



700 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



FRANCIS M. ALDERTON, now of Indiana, was born on Capon River, 1873; son of William 
H. and Mary Alderton ; married Vera, daughter of George and Harriet lace, of Indiana, 1896. 
Their child's name is Francis Deskin. Mr. Alderton lived in Chicago daring theworld's fair, 1893, 
and held a position as overseer of a portion of the grounds. 

GEORGE S. ARNOLD, farmer of Springfield district, son of David and Mary Arnold, was 
born, 1843, of German and Irish ancestry ; married, 1882, to Virginia B., daughter of Isaac and 
Susan Parsons ; children, Mary L., George S., Susan B., and Isaac Parsons. Mr. Arnold's farm 
is one of the finest in the South Branch Valley. 

M. H. ADAMS, of Springfield district ; merchant ; son of David C. and Emily J. Adams ; born 
in Virginia, 1857; English ancestry ; married, 1890, to Anna M., danghter of Hector and Sarah 
E. Bell, of Virginia ; children, Georgia Belle, Pauline M., and Russell. 

JOHN F. ARNOLD, farmer, resident of Romney district, son of Joseph H. and Climenta 
Arnold, of Irish ancestry, was born in Hardy County, 1870 ; married, 1891, to Mollie A., daughter 
of William and Sarah Sisler ; children, William H. and Ethel L. 

JACOB ALLEN, tanner, resident of Romney district, son of Frank and Viola Allen, was 
born at Moorefield, 1821 ; married, 1852, to Matilda, daughter of Edmund and Sarah Grandson ; 
children, Henry, Viola, Sarah, Belle H., Mary, and Guy. 

JACOB R. ARNOLD, stone-mason, Gore district, son of J. S. and Martha Arnold, German 
ancestry, was horn 1849 ; married Hattie F., daughter of Moses H. and A. E._Core, 1873; chil- 
dren, William L., Mettie M., Fannie E., Paul A., Alwilda, and Joseph. 

JOSHUA R. ARNOLD, farmer of Sherman district, son of George W. and Sarah A. Arnold, 
Scotch and Irish ancestry, was born 1841; married Mary H., daughter of James and Emeline 
Haines, 1867 ; children, Laura M., James E., Crenetta R., Sarah E., and John. Mr. Arnold 
served three years in the Union army, and took part in several battles, among them the battle 
of South Mountain, Antietam, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and Dalton. 

DAVID A. ARNOLD, stone-mason, Gore district, son of J. S. and Martha Arnold, was born 
1853 ; married Anna M., daughter of Peter and Rebecca Snyder, 1877 ; children, Virginia M., 
Edward R., and Daisey M. 

' PETTER BAUER, a manufacturer of woollen goods, resides in Mill Creek district. He is a 
son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Bauer, and was born at Heidelberg, Germany, 1832. In 1865 he 
married Kate, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Weckert, of Wurtemberg, Germany; children, 
James H. and Frederick W. Petter Bauer served four years in the Union army, and belonged 
to the Kelley Lancers, Company A., First West Virginia Cavalry. He engaged in many battles, 
from first to hist, among them being that at Romney, October 26, 1861 ; Blue's Gap, January 7, 
1862; Winchester, March 23, 1862; Port Republic, Juue 9, 1862; Rapidan, August 7, 1862; 
Cedar Mountain, August 9, 1862; Kelley's Ford, August 21, 1862; Waterloo Bridge, August 24, 
1862. He came from Germany, 1852, and has lived in Hampshire ever since, except ten years in 
Grant County. He had never seen Miss Weckert before she left Germany. She came to 
America in 1853. 

CHARLES H. BISER, a farmer of Mill Creek, son of Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Biser, was born 
1859; English ancestry ; married, 18S0, to Susan C, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Hartmau, 
of Hampshire County ; children, Lulu F., Nasby L., Dorothy B., Marvin A., and Ethel I. 

GEORGE W. BOWERS, farmer of Bloomery, son of Daniel and Mary E. Bowers, was born 
1840 ; German ancestry ; married, 1866, Mary C., daughter of Israel and Elizabeth Hardy ; 
children, Elmer, Warren, Mead, Lottie, John, Mary E., Elizabeth, May, George, and Emma G. 
He owns one thousand acres, one hundred and twenty-five improved. 

JOHN B. BENNETT, farmer of Bloomery, son of Isaac N. and Margaret Bennett, was born 
1859; German ancestry; married, 1890, Lallie, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Reaves Whitlock; 
children, Ray and Viola. He owns two hundred and sixty acres, one-fourth improved. 

JOHN B. BUCKWALTER, of Bloomery district, carpenter by trade, was born 1830; son of 
Anthony and Mary Buckwalter ; German ancestry ; owns two hundred and sixty-eight acres, 
half improved. 

EDWARD BRETSFORD, farmer, but formerly a blacksmith, son of Jesse and Mary E. Brets- 
ford, was born 1838 ; French ancestry ; married, 1872, to Barbara, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
Swancy (the name in English is Twenty), of Maryland; children, Edward E. and John M. Mr. 
Bretsford owns four hundred and eight acres, forty improved; was a Confederate soldier twelve 
months, and lost an arm from a wound received while on furlough, near Slanesville. 

JAMES F. BLAKER, farmer of Bloomery, son of Fintou and Eveline Blaker, was born 
1846 ; English ancestry ; married, 1873, Iny Z., daughter of Jesse and Elizabeth Pugh ; children, 
Jettie W. and Arlie L. 

H. J. BRILL, farmer of Capoi district, residing on the head of Dillon's Run, was a soldier 

in the Confederate army. 




FAMILY SKETCHES, 



70! 



CHARLES N. D. BENNETT, minister of the United Brethren Church, eon of Isaac 5. and 
Margaret Bennett, was born of German ancestry, 1869 ; married Nannie 0 n daughter of F. D. and 
Emeline Blaker, 1888 ; children, Beulah C. and Julius M. He has been in the ministry since 
1886. He lives near Capon Springs. 

HARRISON BRILL, farmer of Capon, son of Michael and Ellen Brill, was born 1840 ; Ger- 
man ancestry; married Anna E., daughter of David and Harriett E. Nixon, 1870; children, 
James A., Robert ft, Anna L., and Minnie B. Mr. Brill served three years in the Confederate 
army. 

JOHN L. BTJRKETT, farmer of Gore, son of Samuel and Catherine Burkett, was born 1852; 
German and Irish parentage; married, 1888, Ella, daughter of John and Mary Burkett; chil- 
dren, Samuel F. and Ethel. 

T. D. BLOOM, farmer of Gore, son of Jonathan and Martha Bloom, was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, 1873; married, 1895, Edith, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Offutt. Their child's name 
is Aita E. 

JASPER N. BUZZARD, farmer of Gore district, son of Mr. and Mrs. "William Buzzard, was 
born 1842; married, 1867, Susan M., daughter of James L and Rebecca Pownell; children, Mary 
R., Robert W., Ida A. L., Lola M., and Ethel S. 

L P. BARNES, farmer of Gore, son of William and Susanna Barnes, was born 1823 ; Ger- 
man ancestry ; married, 1851, Mary Figans ; children, Barbara E., Franklin P., James N., Isabella 
M., Susanna, Barnes W. H., Minor G., Minerva, and Ida L, 

THE BLUE FAMILY. — The Blue family were among the earliest settlers in Hampshire 
County, if not the very earliest. There were three brothers, John, Uriah, and Michael, the two 
latter making their homes near Shepherdstown, while John settled about five milps north of 
Romney, and was the founder of the Blue family in Hampshire Couuty. They came from New 
Jersey to Virginia early in the seventeenth century. They came to New Jersey from H olland 
in the early years of the colonization of the United States. They were, therefore, among tffiS" "" 
pioneers upon the Western continent ; and in all the generations since then they have been 
influential and useful citizens. The family, so far as their history can be traced in Holland, were 
in affluent circumstances. 

The date at which John Bine came to Hampshire County is fixed partly by tradition and 
partly by family record. His son John (grandfather of the present John Blue) was twelve years 
old when he came with his father to Hampshire. He died in 1791, aged seventy-eight years. 
That would prove that he came to Hampshire in 1725. If such was the case, he was about eight 
or ton years earlier than the usually accepted earliest settlement of the South Branch Valley. 
This John Blue, who died in 17S1, left his property by will to his wife and his thirteen children. 
The names of these children were as follows: Uriah, Abraham, John, Jacob, David, Michael, 
Garrett, William, Jesse, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Hannah, and Margaret. 

L. G. BURKETT, farmer of Springfield district, son of Henry and Harriet Burkett, was 
born, 1832, of German ancestry ; married, 1852, Eliza A., daughter of James and Jane Malcolm, 
of Ireland ; children, S. Jane, James H., Charles M., Thomas M., L. Dora, William H., and 
Harriet A. 

C. E. BURKETT, of Three Churches; farmer; English ancestry; son of Mr. and Mrs. 
Thomas A. Burkett ; born 1856 ; married, 1884, to M. E., daughter of H. D. and Annie Collins ; 
children, Nannie V. and 0. T. 

JAMES R. BLUE, of Springfield; farmer; son of John L. and Eliza M. Blue; Dutch and 
English ancestry; born in Maryland, 1855. 

JAMES P. BLUE, a farmer of Springfield district, was born 1833 ; son of Thomas and Sarah 
A. Blue; Dutch ancestry; married, 1861, Mary E., daughter of Simon and Eliza Blue; children, 
Susan G., Kirk, Thomas L., Sarah ft, Mary E., and Maud C. 

J. H. BLUE, farmer of Springfield district, son of Charles and Mary C. Blue; English 
ancestiy; born 1847; married, 1881, Sarah G., daughter of George W. and S. A.Washington; 
children, C. W., Charles J., and Lucy R. 

MICHAEL BLUE, farmer of Springfield district, son of Michael and Frances Blue, was 
born in 1819, of Dutch ancestry; married, 1857, to Mary, daughter of William and Sarah A. Blue. 
Further mention of Mr. Blue will be found in this book. 

LAWSON BLUE, farmer of Springfield district, son of Michael and Frances Blue, was born 
1821, of Dutch ancestry. 

A. C. BAKER, of Springfield district; farmer; son of Isaac and Susan Baker; German and 
~V)tch ancestry ; born 1851 ; married, 1882, Kate R., daughter of William and Mary Donaldson. 

{ A. F. BARNES, of Three Churches; farmer; son of William and Susanna Barnes; born 
B33; German ancestry; married, 1865, Margaret, daughter of Andrew and Elenor Bowman; 
faildren, j. d., 0. A., Verdie E., William E., G. H., A. W., and A. G. 

/ 



702 



HISTORY OF ' .HAMPSHIRE. 



"WILLIAM BANKS, former of Bomney district, son of David and Sarah Banks, was born 
1831, married, 1867, to Agnes, daughter of Samuel and Juda Biggs, of Virginia; children, Lydus 
and Nora. 

EWING BUSH, of Romney district, hotel waiter ; born in Missouri, 1839 ; married, 1866, to 
Judith Washington ; children, Anna, Arthur, and Minnie. 

JOHN BLUE, assessor of Hampshire County ; son of Garret L and Sarah A. Blue ; born 
1834, of Holland Dutch ancestry ; married, 1868, to Annie E., daughter of Vause and Rebecca 
Fox; children, Sarah V., Edwin H., William F., George C, Bebecca H., Mary E., John D. 
Further mention of Mr. Blue will be found in this book. 

B. B. BBOOKS, carpenter, Bomney district, eon of David and Elizabeth Brooks, was born in 
Hardy County, 1835; Irish ancestry; married, 1865, to Ellen, daughter of Isaac and Matilda 
Keller, of Virginia; children, Annie B. aud Nettie F. 

JOHN BONNET, Sr., farmer of Bomney district, son of Beuben and Martha J. Bonney, 
was born in Pennsylvania, 1836, of Scotch and Irish ancestry ; married, 1859, to Mary, daughter 
of John and Mary Brown ; children, Lucretia, John B., Charles E., Tirzah, Sarah C, and 
Martha J. " 

ISAAC T. BEADY, farmer of Bomney district, son of S. D. and Susan P. Brady, of Irish 
parentage, was l>orn 1840; married, 1865, to Sallie L., daughter of Isaac and Susan Parsons; 
children, James B., Edna E., Samuel D., Isaac P., Bobert D., Kate, and Susan. Further men- 
tion of Mr. Brady will be found in this book. 

ERASMUS BEAN, farmer of Sherman district, son of Joseph Bean, English ancestry, was 
born in Hardy County, 1822; married Mary E., daughter of Jacob and Bachel McKeever, 1885; 
children, Luella and Jacob S. 

ISAAC N. BAKER, farmer of Sherman, son of James and Bebecca Baker, was born 1842; 
married Catherine, daughter of George and Nancy Nealis, of Ireland, 1876 ; children, William 
C, James H., Fannie C, Rosa A., George N., Sallie R., Norman F., and Mary K 

GEORGE 0. BOWMAN, farmer of Sherman district, Bon of Andrew and Catherine Bowman, 
German ancestry, was born 1846; married Jemima Shingleton, 1882; children, Eddie, Reuben, 
Stella, Frank, Thomas, Martha, and Griffith. 

J. W. BLOXHAM, farmer of Sherman, son of Thomas and Nancy Bloxham, English 
ancestrv, was born in Hampshire County; married Susan, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth 
Budolph, 1897. 

CHABLES L. BAKER, farmer of Sherman, son of Warren and Eliza Baker, German ances- 
try, was born in Hardy County, 1867; married Lucy B., daughter of John and Flora Shane, 1888; 
children, Alonzo E. and Vernon 0. 

E. T. BYRD, blacksmith of Sherman district, son of Emanuel Byrd, was born of English 
parentage, 1867 ; married Celie E., daughter ot B. F. and D. C. Kline, 1893. Their child's name 
is Benjamin F. Byrd. 

SILAS BUCKLEW, a miller of Sherman district, son of William and Emily Bucklew, Ger- 
man ancestry, was born in Preston County, 1862 ; married Mary L., daughter of Elias and Bacbel 
Peer, of Virginia, 1885; children, Ada F. and Owen L. Mr. Bucklew has charge of the roller 
flour-mill at Augusta. He learned his trade in Pre6ton County. 

ELZY F. BUCKLEW, farmer and blacksmith of Sherman, son of Marcellus and Lutissia 
Bucklew, English and German ancestry, was born in Pendleton Count 1876 ; married Maggie, 
daughtf- of Jacob W. and Jane Smith, 1895; their child's name is Renza J^J/'^ 

THE COOPER FAMILY.— Two brothers, named Keifer, emigrated from Gefti oy-^ little 
before the i oiationary War. One settled near Frederick City, Maryland ; the otlvr nea? i*^n- 
caster, Pennsylvania. Both families adopted the English name Cooper. James Cooper, UnitM 
.States Senator from Pennsylvania nearly half a century ago, was a grandson of the Pennsylva- 
nia Cooper. Near the close of the eighteenth century, the Maryland Cooper sold his property 
; nd purchased land and located in Hampshire. He left three sons and two daughters ; John, 
Adam, and Christopher were the sons. Adam married Catherine Kertz, of North Biver; the 
Lde Rev. Christopher Kertz, so prominent in the early history of Methodism on North River 
was her brother. They left four children, Sarah, Charles, Mary, and Samuel. Sarah married 
Rev. John Engle. They left four sous and three daughters. Their eldest son, Rev. J. J. Engle, 
now owns and lives on a fine farm near Berryville, Clarke County, Virginia. He has been a 
prominent minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for over forty years. He was 
chaplain to Colonel Burk's regiment. Stonewall Jackson's brigade, in the Confederate service. 
His brother, Lieutenant B. Holland Engle, belonged to the same brigade, was wounded and died, i 
The youngest brother, Samuel Engle, belonged to the cavalry commanded by Captain Sheetz, 1 
and was killed at Brandy Station. Mary Engle married James Carter. They left four sons and ': 
two daughters. Their eldest son. Lieutenant Jefferson Carter, belonged to Imboden's command j 
The well known and successful merchant of Pleasant Dale, this county, John W. Carter, is one c \ 

V 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 



703 



the four brothers. Charles Cooper, now eighty-five years old, lives on his fine farm seven miles 
southwest of Cooper Bridge. 

Samuel Cooper, the youngest of the family, was born 1824, and retains physical and mental 
faculties seldom enjoyed by one of his age. He has been in the mercantile business at Gapon 
Bridge nearly forty years. In his youth, schools were few in Hampshire, and education was 
obtained with difficulty. He saved his money and invested it in books, and by close appli- 
cation he qualified himself for teaching school long before he was twenty. He taught in winter 
and attended school in summer. In 1851 he was nominated by the Democrats of Hampshire for 
county surveyor. The Whigs also placed his name on their ticket, and he was elected by one 
thousand majority over two good men. He was justice of the peace, member of the old county 
court, and member of the board of education and its presiding officer. He was twenty years 
president of the Capon district board of education. He also held the office of sheriff of the 
county. In 1866 he Was elected to the legislature with Henry G. DaTis, afterwards United 
States Senator, as his colleague. They were Hampshire County's first representatives after the 
war. Colonel Cooper, being a Democrat, was on the minority side in the legislature; but his 
course won for him the respect, confidence, and esteem not only of his constituents, but of the 
whole State. 

J. C. CUNNINGHAM, farmer of Mill Creek, son of Samuel and Mary C. Cunningham, was 
born, 1872, in Greene County, Pennsylvania, of Irish parentage ; married, 1894, Sarah C, daughter 

I of Nicholas and Catherine Leathennan ; their child's name is Lyle. Mrs. Cunningham taught 
thirteen terms of school. 

W. H. CLAYTON, of Mill Creek, by occupation a plasterer, was born in Missouri, 1869 ; son 
of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Clayton ; English ancestry ; married, 1894, to Lillie J., daughter of Mr. and 
Mrs. John W. Hartman. 

JOSEPH T. CLABK, farmer of Bloomery, son of Sampson B. and Mary E. Clark, English 
and German descent, was born 1841; married, 1865, Margaret E., daughter of Stephen and Annie 
Miller; children, James M., Mary A., Alice V., John W., and Clara M. He owns one hundred 
acres, sixty improved. 

A. C. COWGILL, farmer and school-teacher, Bloomery district, son of James A. and Frances 
Cowgill, was born of English and Irish ancestry, 1854; married, 1873, Frances M., daughter of 
Azariah and Jane Woolford ; children, Leonora, Ira V., James L., Ethel N., Grady E., and Edna 
F. He owns one hundred and seventy-five acres, sixty-three improved. Mr. Cowgill has taught 
twenty-one terms of school, of which sixteen were on a number one certificate. He was three 
times a member of the county board of examiners and once secretary of the board of education. 

C. H. CAUDT, merchant at Elk Garden, in Mineral County, son of James and Margaret 
Candy, was born in Hampshire. In 1880 he was elected sheriff of Mineral. He was several 
years conductor on the West Virginia Central Bailroad, and in 1896 he was placed in charge of 
the company's store at Elk Garden. 

J. B. COOPEB, merchant and saw-mill man, residing near Capon Springs, was born 1861 ; son 
of M. B. and Rebecca Cooper; German parentage; married Alice M., daughter of William and 
Eliza Anderson, of Virginia, 1883; children, Carson N., Delilah F., Nelson B. He resides in a 
stone house on a farm of twenty-three acres. 

ASA CLINE, farmer, residing at Yellow Springs, son of Philip and Elizabeth Cline, was 
born 1827; German, Scotch, and Irish parentage; married Margaret B., daughter of Hugh and 
Lucinda McKeever, of Hardy County, 1849; children, Irvin M., John W., Jennie, Alice, Bertie, 
Hugh P., Frank, and Sarah. Mr. Cline was married again, 1882, to Jemima, daughter of Jacob 
Heishman, of Hardy County ; children, Winifred, Daisy, Ernest, Clarence, Ross L., and Bryan. 
He was in the Confederate service seven months. He owns one thousand acres, three hundred 
and fifty improved. 

JAMES CRES V 'LL, tanner and fanner of Capon district, son of Abraham and Mr Cres- 
well, Fpo-1" ' . Irish ancestry, was born 1816; married Margaret, daughter of Ph.iip and 
j Eli d, 1848; children, Mary V., Charles W., Alverdie C, James B., Edw td P., Cor- 

\ d ., Bessie 0., Ida R., and Lydia I. Mr. Creswell died 1878. Mrs. Creswell iS: sides on the 
»ae farm of two hundred and eighty acres on Capon River. 

J. W. CARTER, merchant, residing at Pleasant Dale in Gore district, son of James and 
Mary Carter, was born 1845; English and German ancestry ; married, 1873, Jennie, daughter of 
William S. and Nancy Taylor. Their son's name is William A. Carter. His father, James Car- 

>r, was born in Loudoun County, 1803, and moved with his father in 1810 to Hampshire and 

ttled at Hanging Rocks, on North River. 

EDWARD B. CUMMINS, farmer of Gore, son of Edward and Sarah Cummins, was born 
; , of English parentage, 1860 ; married, 1885, Margaret, daughter of Alexander and Mary Sanders ; 
children, Myrtle M., Harry C, and Dwight E. 

BENJAMIN CORNWELL, a minister of the old school Baptist Church, moved to Jersey 
dountain, from Fauquier County, 1859, with his wife and two sons, Jacob H. and Jesse. His 
i 1 ife died in 1869, and is buried at Three Churches. He died several years later iu Fauquier 
unty, and is buried there. 



/' 



704 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



JACOB H. COBNWELL, son of Benjamin CornwelL was married, 1864, to Mary E. Taylor, 
daughter of John Taylor and granddaughter of Jesse Monroe. To them were born four sons 
and one daughter, all of whom are Bring, except one son who died in infancy. 

WILLIAM B. COBNWELL, son of Jacob Corn well, and prosecuting attorney of Hampshire, 
was married April 30, 1891, to Miss Nannie Dellinger, of Middletowa, Virginia, who, with two 
children, died three years later. 

, JOHN J. COBNWELL, son of Jacob Cornwell, was married June 30, 1891, to Miss Edna 
Brady, of Bomney. 

PHILIP CLINGERMAN, farmer of Springfield, son of Peter and Mary Clingerman, was 
born of English ancestry, 1846, in Pennsylvania ; married, 1870, Sarah A, daughter of Theodore 
and Susanna Mellott, of Pennsylvania; children, John W., Frederick W., Joseph P., Sherman, 
Charles 6. C, George H., and Maggie E. 

WILLIAM W. COBDEB, merchant of Green Spring, son of J. W. and Julia A. Corder, was 
born at Old Town, Maryland, 1863, of Irish and German ancestry ; married, 1896, Nettie V., 
daughter of Elias and Catherine Begle, of Ohio. 

L. A. COBBER, farmer of Springfield district, son of Abner and Emma A. Corder, was born 
1864 ; English, Irish, and French descent ; married, 1889, Mary S., daughter of Alexander and 
Mary A. Sanders; children, F. E., Beatrice A., and Noah S. 

JAMES M. COWGILL, of Springfield district; farmer; son of F. H. and N. J. Cowgill; 
born 1857; German ancestry; married, 1897, Harriet E., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob 
Bowman ; children, F. T. G., P. B. W., M. B. A., V. E. T., and EL D. N. 

J. H. CHESHIBE, son of Elias and Katharine Cheshire, of English ancestry, was born 
1859; farmer, residing near Junction; married, 1884, Kate E., daughter of Daniel and Sallie 
Arnold, of Burlington ; children, Edith B. and Harry W. 

J. ROBERT CHESHIRE, farmer, resident of Romney district, son of James F. and Sarah 
A. Cheshire, was born 1853; married, 1877, to Harriet E., daughter of Samuel 8. and Mary C. 
McDoDald ; children, Anna B., Burr W., Mary B., Charles E., Gustava N., Maud M., and 
Nina M. 

C. H. COOKUS, teacher, resident of Bomney district, son of John T. and Susan B. Cookus, 
of German ancestry, was born in Tirginia, 1859; married, 1882, to Sue N., daughter of Bernard 
and Caroline Fetzer, of Virginia ; children, Lester B. and Harry H. 

ABRAHAM CHESHIBE, farmer of Sherman district, son of Elias and Catherine Cheshire, 
German extraction, was born 1850; married Eliza A., daughter of John W. and Mary E. 
Daugherty, 1877; children, Ada F., John W., Lucinda K., Howard C, Martha E. F., and 
Maud V. 

CHABLES A. CABLILE, farmer of Sherman, son of Isaac and Sarah Carlile, German 
ancestry, was born 1835 ; married Julia, daughter of George H. and Leah Slonaker, 1869. Mr. 
Carlile was born in Hampshire County ; moved to Missouri, resided there twenty-eight years, 
and was moving back to Hampshire in 1895, when he died. 

J. W. COFFMAN, farmer of Sherman district, son of John and Mary Coffman, German 
ancestry, was born 1845; married S. V. Frye, daughter of Benjamin P. and Mary Frye, 1881 ; 
children, M. L., Ira W., Otis E., Charles M., and Jettie L. 

G. T. CUMMINS, merchant of Gore, 6oa of Edward and Sarah Cummins, was born 1857; 
married Frances E., daughter of James W. and Eliza Orndoff, 1883 ; children. Wilhelmina, 
Edward M., and Ethel G. 

M. L. C0MPT0N, farmer near Slanesville, son of A. B. Y. and Mary E. Compton, English 
parentage, was born in Rappahannock County, 1858 ; married Rachel A., daughter of John A. 
and Sarah L. Corder, 1881. Their child's name is Austin M. 

HOWELL F. BEAVER, farmer of Bloomery, son of George and Lucinda Beaver, was born 
at Ice monntain, 1851 ; Irish and English parentage ; married, 1892, to Ida, daughter of Peter and 
Bebecca Snyder; children, Leonidas R. and Edna F. He was married twice, the first time to 
Annie Slane, in 1878 : children, Franklin W., Icie T., Attha E., and George L. 

JOHN W. DAVIS, farmer and shoemaker of Capon district, son of Samuel and Marie 
Davis, Irish and German ancestry, was born 1845 ; married Eliza A. V.. daughter of George and 
Rebecca Spaid, 1868 ; children, Robert F. L., Fannie R., Lillian C, and Benjai^u F le resides 
on a farm of three hundred acres. 

GEORGE DEAVER, farmer and stock raiser of Gore district, son of ... i-r *nd Nancy 
Deaver, was born 1825; English and Irish ancestry; married, 1848, I-ue&fcr ' itrfai e* of Jere- 
miah and Lucinda Hiett ; children, Francis A., Howell F., and San* V : er, about I 
1855, was major in the Hampshire militia, under Colonel Alexander . " 2 and the 
following year, he was a member of the legislature. 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 705 

G, P. DARE, fanner of Gore district, son of William H. and Catherine M. Darr, was born 
in Bappahannock County, 1853; German ancestry; married, 1880, Eliza A., daughter of James 
and Ann Nealis, of Ireland ; children, William N., Minnie E., and James E. 

JOHN W. DAY, farmer of Gore, son of Alexander and Caroline Day, Irish descent, was 
born 1868 ; married, 1893, Mollie E., daughter of S. A. and Ann J. Rowzee, of Virginia ; children, 
James E. and John N. 

JOHN P. DARB, of Green Spring; farmer ; son of W. H. and Catherine Darr; German 
ancestry ; born 1847 ; married, 1873, Mary F., daughter of Ammon and Lncinda Clem ; children, 
Anna L., Lovary B., Mary E., James W., George H., Sarah E., John R., Samuel E., and 
Lucy M. 

G. M. DUTALL, of Green Spring; railroading; son of William and Mary J. Duvall ; 
French and English ancestry; born 1861; married, 1886, Anna M., danghter of John and Martha 
J. Nixon, of Maryland ; children, Ashby W., Missouri L., Florence A., Myrtle M., Isabella V., 
Viola D., Blanche B., Benjamin M., Ernest S., Daisey E., Mary W., and Irwin. 

JACOB DAILEY, of Springfield ; merchant; son of Jacob and Jane Dailey; Scotch-Irish 
and English parentage; born 1844; married Tomazine, daughter of John and Eliza Pearce, of 
Maryland. Their son's name is R. W. Dailey. *| 

H. B. DAWSON, farmer of Romney district, son of James and Elizabeth . frnHWc m, of Ger- i 
man ancestry, was borain Alleghany County, Maryland; ancestry, German; married, 1870, to j 
Elizabeth, daughter of John J. and Eliza Rodruck. Their son's name is John J. ) 

D. H. DAUGHERTY, farmer near Augusta, son of John W. and Eliza Daugherty, was born-'' 
1862 ; Irish and English parentage ; married Ella B., daughter of Henry and Rachel Sowers, 188i, 
children, Nora V., Bertie A., Benjamin 0., Ira R., Grover C, and Cora R. 

GEORGE W. DANDRIDGE, farmer of Gore district, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Dandridge, 
was born 1838; married Harriet, daughter of William and Anna Brooks, 1870. Their son, Charles, 
was born 1872. 

GEORGE W. EMMART, of Gore, son of Henry and Rebecca Emmart, was born 1822 ; Ger- 
man and Welsh ancestry; by occupation a millwright and miller; married, 1859, to Barbara A., 
daughter of Henry H. and Eleanor Adkins ; children, Henry M., Rebecca E., Robert L., 
Charles W., Mary E., George E., Lacy A., and John A. Mr. Emmart was a school-teacher for 
fourteen years before the Civil War. 

LUTHER C. EWERS, farmer of Gore, son of Franklin and Virginia Ewers, of Welsh t».nd^. 
Scotch ancestry, was born in Loudoun County, 1854; married, 1875, Susan V., daughter of Jacob 
and Sarah Swisher; children, William T., Annie M., Ella B., and Jacob F. Mr. Ewers was twice 
married. His second wife, whom he married 1890, was Mrs. Annie Swisher, daughter of Mr. and 
Mrs. Michael Scanlon; children, Albert Luther and Annie Carson. 

FRANKLIN EWERS, of Three Churches ; farmer; son of WjUb*m and Nancy Ewers ; born 
in Loudoun County, Virginia, 1824, of Welsh and Scotch descent;" married, 1850, Virginia, 
daughter of Thompson and Catherine Furr; children, Kate F., William T., Luther C, Agnes, 
Jonathan, Loudouu, Naunie F., and Lizzie B. ; stepchildren, Laura and Isaac Ewers. 

JAMES L. EDMISTON, of Green Spring, farmer, was born in Hampshire County, 1812 ; son 
of Jerry and Rosanua Edmiston ; married, 1865, Martha, daughter ot Nathan and Maria Cole- 
man, of Maryland; children, James B., John C, William L., and Vandever. Mr. Edmiston's 
first wife was Emily A. Washington, whom he married 1848. 

W. 0. EVANS, farmer, resident of Romney district, son of John and Mary Evans, of German 
ancestry, was born in Hardy County, 1861 ; married, 1882, to Sarah C, daughter of Samuel and 
Rachel Loy ; children, John W., Oliver D., Mary R., Elizabeth A., Sarah J., and George H. 

L. B. EMMART, teacher of Sherman district, son of Samuel and Elizabeth Emmart, was born 
of German parentage, 1869; has taught seven years, one year as principal of the Romney 
school. 

H. M. EMMART, carpenter and teacher, son of George W. and Barbara A. Emmart, of 
Gore district, was born of German and Welsh parentage, 1860 ; married Mary F., daughter of 
Abram and Elizabeth Thomas, 1893 ; childreu, Thomas Rives, Turley Leon, and Georgia 
Elwilda. 

JOHN P. EVERETT, farmer of Gore, son of Asa and Frances Everett, German extraction, was 
born in New Jersey, 1813 ; married Mary C, daughter of John I. and Sanih Pownell, 185* ; 
children, Lupton, Richard S., Julius P., John P., aud Sallie F. 

G. T. FEASTER, farmer of Mill Creek; German ancestry; son of Henry ard Eliza Feaster; 
born in Grant County, 1S46; married, 1867, to Catherine, daughter of Aaron and Sarah May, of 
Grant County; children. Albert W., Arthur C, Miranda B., Luther T., Sarah E., James H., Annie 
G., Carrie F. 



706 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



JAMES W. FLEMING, farmer of Mill Creek, -was born 1854; of German ancestry; son of 
John and Mary Fleming ; married, 1876, to Mary C, daughter of Andrew and Evaline See, of 
Hardy County ; children, Nora F., Albert E., Martha J., Mary E., John W., and Bertha M. 
Mr. Fleming owns two hundred and eighty-two acres of land, one hundred and fifty acres 
improved, three miles east of Purgitsville. 

WILLTAM T. FOX, farmer, Vernon County, Missouri, was born in Hampshire, 1843 ; son 
of Vause and Bebecca Fox: English ancestry ; married, 1874, Urania, daughter of Garrett I. and 
Sarah A. Blue. Their son's name is William V. Fox. Mr. Fox left Hampshire, 1878, for Kansas, 
and in 1884 moved to his present home in Missouri. 

SAMUEL J. FABMER. Bloomery district; a farmer; son of Samuel and Anna Farmer; 
born, 1»46, in Missouri ; married, 1872, Margaret E., daughter of Minor and Mary Furr ; children, 
Minnie B., Leha A., Miuor L. ; owns two hundred and eighty acres, half improved. 

ELIHU C. FLETCHEB, farmer of Capon district, son of Lewis and Martha Fletcher, Ger- 
man and English ancestry, was born in Frederick County, 1855; married Susanna, daughter of 
Harmon and Sarah Gates, 1882. Their child's name is Albert A. Mr. Fletcher was married 
again, 1887, to Martha A., daughter of Henry W. and Anna M. Oates; children, Lafa L, Sadie 
S., and Bay B. He owns three hundred acres, one-half improved. 

W. D. FOLTZ, farmer of Gore, son of Levi and Matilda Foltz, German parentage, was born 
1855; married, 1876, to a daughter of William and Caroline Haines ; children, Warren Z., Charles 
W., Herman L^ Dailey L., Lulu L., Ocy F., Gordy L., and Grover Cleveland. 

C. M. FEENCH, farmer of Springfield district, son of William and Susan T. French, was 
born, 1841, of Welsh and Eoglish parentage; married, 1873, to Hannah E., daughter of Joseph and 
arriet A. Taylor. Their son's name is -Joseph W. French; second marriage, 1876, to Miss 
.*'ary Susan Taylor ; children, Susan T., Harriet B., C. M., and Mary C. French. 

DAVID FAIRFAX, of Springfield district; farmer ; bom 1848 ; son of Zacharias and Phillis 
Fairfax ; married. 1869, Mary, daughter of Vincent and Nancy Bartlett ; children, Belle, William, 
I iora, Lannis, Woidlaw, Mary N. V. 

JOSEPH W. FEENCH, farmer of Springfield district, son of Charles M. and Hannah E. 
French, was born September 24, 1874. 

W. T. FEENCH, farmer of Springfield district, son of William and Susan French, was born 
1S24; married, 1870, Florence M., daughter of John and Sarah C. Myers, of Virginia. 

S. x.. FL0URN0Y, of Charleston, West Virginia, was formerly a resident of Hampshire 
nunty, representing this district in the State Senate from 1884 till 1890. He is by profession a 
,.*wyer; son of Richard W. and Sarah P. Flouruoy; French and English ancestry; born in 
chesterfield County, Virginia, 1846 ; married, 1875, to Frances A., daughter of John Baker and 
' ranees White, of Virginia; children, B. Parke, Harry L., Frances Z , Samuel L., and Alexander. 
Mr. Flournoy joined Otey Battery, Confederate army, in the spring of 1864, and fought till the 
dose of the war. He graduated from Hampden Sidney College in 1868, receiving the speaker's 
Medal. He came to Hampshire in 1870, and taught school two terms before commencing the 
j ractice of law. 

DAVID FOX, farmer of Bomney district, was born 1858; son of Vause and Bebecca Fox; 
English. German, and Irish ancestry; married, 1S67, to Nannie J., daughter of Abraham and 
.-usan M. Johnson ; children, Susan E., Carrie B., Edwiu J., Bessie M., and David V. 

WILLIAM L. FELLEB, farmer of Bomney district, son of W. H. and Margaret E. Feller, 
^asborn, 18n5,in Shenandoah County; German ancestry; married, 1881, to Mary B., daughter of 
Isaac and Sarah Mills; children, Mary E_, Harry C, Wrennie G. 

BOBEBT S. FISHER, of Bomney; carpenter; German ancestry; born, 1859, in Augusta 
~ounty ; son of J. A. and Sarah Fisher; married, 1885, to Jemima, daughter of Silas and Abigail 
1 ewis; children, Bobert A., Firman D., Boy C. 

SAMUEL A. FREDERICK, miller of Sherman district, son of Lewis and Sibell Frederick, 
German parentage, was born in Hardy County, 1859; married Julia A., daughter of Decatur and 
J.jeanor Steed, 18S1 ; children, Edna M., Walter F., and Harry A. 

F. M. FRAVEL, teacher, son of Moses B. and Eliza A. Fravel, was born at Pughtown, 
"\ irginia, 1836; Swiss descent; married Leah C, daughter of Philip and Diadem Hockman, of 
Virginia, 1869 ; children, C. N., Lena M., Aldine S., Laura B., and Ada L. Mr. Fravel is one of 
Hampshire's oldest educators. He began the work in Hampshire at the close of the war, and 
t .tight in this county until 1892, when he removed to Edinburg, Virginia, where he is still teach- 
ing. He has taught forty-three years; and his son, C. N. Fravel, is at this time a teacher in 
Iiampshire. Mr. Fravel was two years in the Confederate army. 

B. LEE FRYE. farmer of Sherman district, son of Benjamin and Mary I. Frye, German 
descent, was born 1863; married Hattie J., daughter of William H. and Sarah Pepper, 1892; 
children, Ina L. and Mary. 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 



707 



HENRY N. GEAY, farmer near Sedan, son of 8pencer R. and Sarah Gray, German and 
English descent, was born 1859; married Regina S., daughter of Hiram and Jemima Spaid, 1893; 
children, Carrie M., K'vtie J., aud Coddie G. 

A. R. GOOD, miller of Capon district, son of James W. and Priscilla Good, was born 1832; 
German and English ancestry; married Mary E., daughter of Henry and Eliza Rosenberg, of 
Frederick County, 1878 ; children, Daisy H., Elsie E., Mamie M., Margaret R., and Sarah V. 0. 

D. W. GIFFIN, farmer of Capon, son of James and Eliza Giffin, Irish and German ancestry, 
•was born in 1844; married Margaret, daughter of Joseph and Christina Seechrist ; children, 
Mary A., Isaiah R., Lina L., Rittie, Robert, Bertha A., Samuel R., Blanche E., and Walter J. 
Mr. GifEn was a Confederate soldier. He took part in forty battles. He has a sword presented 
to Captain George B. Lang, in 1844, by the Highland Blues. 

SILAS W. GARDNER, millwright of Capon, son of William P. Gardner, German ancestry, 
was born 1844; married Mary E., daughter of John and Margaret Larrick; children, Edward 
F., Annie L., Clarence W., aud Luella M. Mr. Gardner died 1886. 

THOMAS E. GULICK, farmer of Gore, son of N. F. and Jane A. Gulick, French ancestry, 
was born 1842 ; married, 1865, Almira O, daughter of John and D. A. Haiues; children, Charles 
N., John N., William T., I. M., Virginia L., Clara B., Howard E., Granville G. M., and H. V. 

W. B. GRANT, of Morgan County, was born in Hampshire, 1859 ; German parentage; son of 
James M. and Elizabeth Grant; married, 1885, Jennie B., daughter of David C. and. Emma 
Adams, of Virginia ; children, William M., Karl M., Floyd, and Mabel. 

PERRY W. GESS, a mason, Bloomery, was born of German parentage in Shenandoah 
County, 1851 ; son of William and Catherine Gess ; married, 1873, Phoebe A., daughter of Dorsey 
and Nancy Whitacre; children, John H, Andrew S., Noah L., Ada B., Lina, Artie V., Cora, 
Miller, Nannie, and Holland D. 

DAVID GIBSON was of Scotch-Irish descent. One of his ancestors was the Rev. Hugh 
Gibson, of Scotland, a cotemporary of Johu Knox, with whom he shared the persecutions of those 
troublesome times, and finally took refuge in the north of Ireland, whence the father of the 
deceased, Andrew Gibson, emigrated to this country about 1765, and lived several years at or 
near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he married, aud thence removed to Winchester, Virginia, 
at which place his sou David was born, July 22, 1795. His father died away from home when 
David was about a year old, leaving his mother with eight children and in very straightened 
circumstances. With a resolute spirit, she addressed herself to her arduous work ; and, by her 
own exertions, succeeded not only in making comfortable provision for her children, but also in 
giving them a good English education. About the age ol thirteen David commenced his mer- 
cantile career in the store of James Little, then doing an extensive business in Winchester, with 
whom he continued about four years, when, on the breaking out of the War of 1812, Mr. Little 
closed his business, and David was thus deprived of employment. " I could not think of living 
on my old mother," he writes; and by dint of strenuous exertion he procured employment at 
White Post; afterwards with another firm at Winchester ; and finally he was led to Romney, 
where his main life's work was to be done. He alludes in touching terms to his desolate feelings 
on reaching that place. "On February 20, 1814, I arrived at Romney. It was Saturday night. 
My heart was sad. I was a poor boy, compelled to do as I could, not as I would; but I deter- 
mined to support myself by my labor." He entered the store of Frederick Steiuback; but some 
seven months after he was drafted for Norfolk, and with his company, commanded by Captain 
Cockerell, left Romney, August 9, 1814. Soon he was appointed orderly sergeant uf the company, 
and was afterwards promoted to the rank of sergeant-major of the regiment. 

He returned to Romney when peace was declared, but peeing no prospect of getting into 
business there, he spent several months in a store at Winchester, when John Jack, then cashier 
of the South Branch bank, offered him the charge of his store in Romney, with a share of the 
profits. This offer he accepted. The business prospered in his hands, and he continued with Mr. 
Jack until May, 1818, when two well knowu lawyers of Romney, Samuel Kercheval and Warner 
Throckmorton, proposed a partnership with themselves, in another store. Some of his best friends 
were strongly opposed to his leaving Mr. Jack; but the young merchant reasoned shrewdly on 
the subject. " If I remain with Mr. Jack, and build up a good business, the benefit of my labors 
will accrue to his son, who will eventually succeed his father. But these two lawyers know 
nothing about the mercantile business, aud anticipating larger profits than they are likely to 
realize, they will become tired, and, by the time I shall have made enough to buy them out, they 
will be ready to retire." The event justified his^sagacity. In much less time than he expected 
he became sole owner of the store, giving his honds for the value of the goods. Having borrowed 
one thousand dollars he replenished his stock; "and by my constant attention to business," he 
continues, "was greatly encouraged, and built up a trade which continued to increase. This, 
May, 1819, was the date of my start in life." 

In 1825 he was ordained a ruling elder of the Romney church, and continued to act as such 
up to the time of his death. In June, 1820, he was appointed by the county court a justice of 
the peace, and remained such until 1852, when, by a change in the State constitution, the office 
became elective by the people. He was re-elected, and served continuously until the commence- 
ment of the war, occupying, by the choice of his fellow-justices, the position of presiding 
judge. The services Mr. Gibson rendered to Hampshire County in this capacity were invaluable. 
He was gifted with that rare common sense which arrives at just conclusious,*without a distinct 




708 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



consciousness, at all times, of tlie intervening mental process ; and a mind like his could not but 
absorb a large amount of legal knowledge in the trial of tbe numerous cases argued before him. 

In 1823 he was elected a director of the Valley Bank, and in 1837 became its president. In 
December, 1833, he was married to his second wife, the daughter of Isaac Vanmeter, of Hardy 
Oounty, who died in August, 1859. Of her six children, two died in infancy. Her elder son 
ieeps iu the grave of a Confederate soldier at Richmond. 

In 1836 Mr. Gibson retired from the mercantile business, in which he had greatly prospered, 
and bought the valuable South Branch farm, upon which he resided during the rest of his life. 
His native energy and sound judgment, and the systematic habits contracted in his former em- 
ployment, were brought successfully to bear upon the management of this novel enterprise. 
Here he dispensed a generous hospitality and died November 10, 1870. 

JAMES A. GIBSON, son of David Gibson, was born in 1844. He was successively justice of 
the peace, assessor, commissioner of the court, and postmaster. His wife, Mrs. Sallie E. Gibson, 
died November 24, 1884, at the age of forty-eight. Isaac, a brother of James A. Gibson, was 
killed in the Confederate army. Miss Mary Gibson, daughter of James A. Gibson, is the pos- 
sessor of an autograph letter from General Robert E. Lee, not written to her, but which came 
into her possession, and is preserved as a souvenir. Tbe family were all admirers of the great 
Confederate general. 

JOHN W. GRACE, of Springfield district, farmer, son of John and Catherine Grace, was born 
1834 ; married, 1864, Catherine, daughter of Jacob P. and Hannah Daniels ; children, Emma V., 
Robert C, Jacob D., William H., Clarence E., Virgil J., and Walter L. 

N. B. GUTHERIE, of Springfield district, merchant", son of William and Isabella Gutherie, 
•was born in Pennsylvania, 1813; English and Irish ancestry; married, 1855, Mary E., daughter 
of Solomon and Mary Parker ; children, Belle, B. E., M. T.,*aud N. B. 

CONRAD GLAZE, farmer of Green Spring, son of Andrew and Nancy Glaze, was born 
1845; German ancestry; married, 1867, Eliza, daughter of John and Ellen Wince, of Virginia ; 
children, John M., George W. W., James A., Edward, Nancy V., Maria, and Walter C. 

W. N. GUTHRIE, merchant, resident of Romney, son of N. B. and Elizabeth Guthrie, of 
scotch and Irish ancestry, was born 1849; married, 1875, to Susan, daughter of James and Han- 
nah Kuykendall; children, N. B., W. F., Hannah B., Elizabeth F.. Fannie T., James K„, Robert 
F., and Mary L. Mr. Guthrie was a merchant for many years at French's Station, on the Balti- 
more aqd Ohio Railroad. He moved to Romney in 1895. 

JAMES A. GIBSON, of Romney, son of David and Ann M. Gibson, of Scotch and Irish 
i^icestry, was born near Romney. 1842: married, 1872, to S. E. Gilkeson, daughter of John Bell 
nd Mary Gilkeson, of Moorefieid; children, Mary, Ann M., Bell, David, and Sarah H. Further 
"mention of Mr. Gibson is made in this book. 

G. A. GIBBONS, clergyman, resident of Romney, son of Alexander and Rebecca Gibbons, 
i f English ancestry, was born at Aquasca, Maryland, 1843 ; married, 1873, to Laura A., daughter 
of William H. and Jane E. Whaley, of Virginia ; children, Page A., Hugh Kent, Mabel Earle, 
snd Ruth A. 

H. B. GILKESON, lawyer, resident of Romney, son of Robert W. and Sarah E. Gilkeson, 
of Scotch ancestry, was born at Moorefieid. 1S50 ; married, 1884, to Mary K., daughter of J. J. 
•.and E. J. Paxton," of Virginia; children, Laura P., Robert W.. and Henry B. Further mention 
of Mr. Gilkeson will be made in this book. 

J. T. GOLDSBOROUGH, agent Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, resident of Romney district, 
son of Thomas and Hannah A. Goldsborongh. of English and German ancestry, was born on 
Patterson Creek, 1859; married, 1890, to B. W. Parker, daughter of I. V. and Gertrude Parker; 
children, Bessie Ward, Blanche Parker, John Waldo, and Katie Marie. 

JOHN R. GRAPES, farmer and teacher of Gore district, son of Isaac N. and Elizabeth 
Grapes, English parentage, was born 1861; married Lillie M. Wills; children, Flossie B., Nellie 
i '., and Benjamin M. 

MISS NELLIE HIGH, of Mill Creek district, was born 1877 - daughter of Nor^man and 
Ellen High : of German and Scotch ancestry; has taught three years in the public schools of 
Hampshire, and has attended two terms at the Shenandoah Normal School. 

ALPHEUS HIGH, farmer of Mill Creek; son of John and Mary A. High : of German ances- 
try ; born 1831; married, I860, to Sarah A., daughter of George and Susan D. Lloyd, of Patterson 
Creek; children. Elizabeth, Dorothy A.. Amelia K., Sarah D., Jacob R., and Myrtle M. Mr. High 
owns one hundred and sixty acres of land near Purgitsville. 

ROBERT C. HOOK, farmer of Bloomery. son of A. M. and Mary C. Hook, was born 1864; 
married, 1890, Sarah E., daughter of C. B. and Eliza B. McDonald; children, Alonzo L., Walter 
C, and Ulu M. Mr. Hook owns four hundred acres of laud, three hundred improved. 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 



EDWARD HOOK, farmer of Blooniery, son of Mr. and Mrs. David Hook, was born in Vir- 
ginia, 1839 ; English ancestry ; married, 1866, Bridget, daughter of Michael and Catherine BriBCoe, 
of Maryland ; children, Thomas E., Mary C, Roeie E., David M., Alice, James L., Harry A., Annie, 
and John W. Mr. Hook served three years as justice of the peace in Bloomery district. 

CHARLES HAWKINS, wagon-maker of Bloomery, son of Ephraim and Elizabeth Hawkins, 
was born of Irish descent, 1822; married, 1848, Rebecca, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Light, 
of Virginia; children, Margaret A., George W., Elizabeth M., Louis K, Benjamin B., and 
Endora V. 

JOHN S. HIETT, farmer of Bloomery, son of John and Julia Hiett, was born 1843 ; French 
arreestry; married, 1863, Mary E., daughter of Charles J. and Catherine A. Noland; children, 
Edgar.il., John W., Charles E., Sarah E., Samuel F., Mary E., and Joseph P. He owns three 
hundred and fifty-three acres, sixty improved. Be was a Confederate soldier thirteen months; 
was held a prisoner twenty-four hours at Sir John's Bun, and was then released. •** 

HENRY HAWKINS, farmer of Bloomery, son of James and Elizabeth Hawkins, was born 
1832; German ancestry; married, 1868, Louisa, daughter of Christopher and Mary Slonaker; 
children, Martha V., Clara B., Mary F., Annie L., Amanda J. Mr. Hawkins died July 8, 1894. 
He served in the Confederate army three years. His farm contains one hundred and eighty 
acres. 

JACOB A. HITE, a farmer of Bloomery, son of Isaac and Mary A. Hite, was born 1850 ; 
German ancestry ; married, 1872, Fannie M., daughter of James M. and Eliza J. Pangle, of Vir- 
ginia; children, Clarence G., Charles C, Eleanora V., William A. M , and Fannie L. He owns 
one hundred and eighty-five acres, one hundred improved. 

JOHN W. HIETT, farmer of Bloomery, son of John S. and Mary E. Hiett, was born 1866 ; 
married, 1891, Annie, daughter of Robert and Margaret Wilson, of Maryland; children, Florence 
M. and Esrom R. He owns one hundred and sixty acres, seventy improved. 

JOHN W. HITE, shoemaker of Bloomery, son of Isaac and Mary A. Hite, was born of Ger- 
man ancestry, 1838 ; married, 1865, Amelia C, daughter of Joseph and Lucinda Sole, of Virginia ; 
children, Annie B. and Joseph I. He was married three times, — the second, 1878, to Bertha Jane, 
daughter of Martin G. Sole ; children. Mary E., John D.,and Bertha J. His third marriage, 1890, 
was to Mary L., daughter of John and Nancy Smith. 

DANIEL B. HAINES, of Bloomery ; merchant ; son of Henry and Phoebe J. Haines; 
born 1856; married, 1886, Elizabeth F., daughter of James H. and Eveline Williams, of Mary- 
land; children, Lesty C, D. Blanche , Alice M., Bryan W. Mr. Haines has been in business at 
Capon Bridge eleven years. 

GEORGE A. HOTT, farmer and teacher of Bloomery ; son of Levi and Sarah Hott ; German 
ancestry; born 1852; married, 1880, Cordelia V., daughter of William T. and Susan A. Riley; 
children, Estella, Omor L.. Ernest W., and Chloe. Mr. Hott was a member of the West Vir- 
ginia legislature in 1891 and in 1893. He has taught twenty-one terms of school, never applied 
for but one school, and did not get that. He was a member of the county board of examiners 
one term. 

TILBURY HEISHMAN, farmer of Capon, son of Jacob and Lavina Heishman, English and 
German anceBtry, was born, 1865, in Hardy County; married Bessie, daughter of Lemuel and 
Sarah Kline, 1892 ; children, Mabel and Sadie. 

HENRY W. HAINES, farmer and carpenter of Capon, son of Jefferson and Mary Haines, 
was born 1849; English and Scotch descent; married Elizabeth A., daughter of Hiram and 
Catherine Easter, 1874; children, Dora W., Lulu M., Clara B., Cora L., Ada L., Minnie D., Ellis 
E., and Maud L. He owns four hundred acres, one hundred and fifty improved. 

M. L. HEATWOLE, carpenter of Capon, son of John Heatwole, served several years as justice 
of the peace in Capon district. 

M. F. HANNUM, merchant at Capon Springs, son of Joseph and Elizabeth Hannum, Scotch 
and Irish parentage, was born 1830; married Margaret, daughter of John and Frances Lafollette, 
1851. Mr. Hannum, for a second wife, married Barbara E., daughter of William Pifer, of 
Frederick County. 

R. A. HENDERSON, farmer residing near Barnes's mills in Gore district, son of James G. 
and Jane Henderson, was born 1861; Irish parentage; married, 1891, Minnie, daughter of Mr. 
and Mrs. Eli McBride ; children, Benjamin F. and Lottie J. 

J. W. HAINES, farmer near Pleasant Dale," Gore district, son of James and Evaline Haines, 
was born 1854; married, 1894, Maria V., daughter of Jeremiah and Emily Hiett; children, Virgil 
E. and Marvin D. 

HENRY H. HIETT. farmer of Gore district, near Hanging Rocks, son of Evan and Barbara 
Hiett, was born of English parentage, 1841; married, 1877, Anna, daughter of S. and Mary J. 
N McDcnald, of Virginia; children, Holmes B.. Harry E., Mary W., Maurice C, and Maud 0. ' 



710 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



J. A. HAINES, farmer of Gore district, eon of Philip and Catherine Haines, was born of 
German ancestry, 1854; married, 1893, Maggie A., daughter of Arthur and Elizabeth Fleek, 
Their eon's name is Arthur W. 

WILLIAM HASS, of Okouoko, a farmer, Bon of Peter and Mary Has9, was born of German 
parentage, 1820; married, 1848, Sarah J., daughter of David and Mary Arnold ; children, David 
A. and Sarah A. Mr. Hass married a second time, 1861, Miss Ann M. High ; he married his 
third wife a few years later ; and in 1896 he married his fourth wife, Mrs. Ettie Sperow. 

JOHN W. HOCKMAN, of Pleasant Dale, a teacher by profession, son of Philip and Diadem 
Hockman, was born 1848 ; German and Irish parentage; married, 1879, S. Alice, daughter of 
Abraham and Lavina Godlove; children, Cora A., John F., Stella B., Charles W., Alva M., 
Philip Stein, and India L. 

JAMES E. HAINES, farmer of Pleasant Dale, son of James and Aveline Haines, was born 
1857; married, 1876, Elizabeth Walford; children, Bertha F., James A., Olive L., Nora E., and 
Montie I. 

L. H. HEARE, farmer of Gore, son of Matthew and Mary Heare, Irish parentage, wa6 born 
1831; married, 1861, Zulemma, daughter of Silas and Joanna Shanholtzer; children, Johnson T., 
Augusta F., Lillian E., Minor G., George W., Lorenzo H., Bertha V., Wade V., Walter B., and 
Virgil H. 

NOAH W. HAINES, school-teacher of Gore district, son of John and Ladema Haines, 
English ancestry, was born 1856: married, 1879, Annie W., daughter of Hiram aud Catherine 
Easter; children, Gertie L., Granville L., Elmer L., Calvin C., Gilmer T., Victor C, and 
Conrad R. 

CHARLES N. HIETT, of Slanesville ; fire insurance agent; son of Joseph S. and C. E. 
Hiett; French and Scotch ancestry; born 1847 ; married, 1874, Rosa P., daughter of John and 
Ladema Haines; children, Carrie W, Henderson, V. B., C. N., F. H., Nettie, Edith, and Ethel 
Lillian. 

THE HARPER FAMILY.— The founder of the Harper family, well known in Hampshire 
County, was Goodlow Harper, a nalive ol England. Prior to the Revolutionary War he came to 
America, married and settled in Philadelphia. He had two sons, George K. Harper and Goodlow 
Harper. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War he became a Tory, and sympathized with 
England in its effort to subdue the colonies. Mr. Harper returned to England, leaving his wife 
and two sons in Philadelphia. He corresponded- with his wife, sending the letters in care of a 
British officer stationed at or near Philadelphia. After two years, letters ceased coming from 
him. Mrs. Harper's letters to him were unanswered. She finally concluded that he was dead, 
and she married the British officer. At the close of the war, Mr. Harper returned to Philadel- 
phia, only to learn that he no longer had a wife. He went to see his children, bade them and 
their mother good-by, and departed. He was never again heard of. "*< 

GEORGE KENTON HARPER, son of Goodlow Harper, lived at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 
where he was editor of a newspaper, influential in its day, the FranMin Repository, which he pub- 
lished fpf more than forty years. He supported Adams against Jefferson for President of the United 
States.' He was opposed to the declaration of war against England in 1812; but when hostilities 
began, he upheld the administration in the prosecution of the war, not only through the columns 
of his paper, but he shouldered his musket and marched to Canada and fought till the close of 
the war, when he returned to Chambersburg and resumed the editorship of his paper. He was 
in the battle ef North Point, where the British were defeated and the city of Baltimore saved 
from capture. He died in 1858. 

WILLIAM HARPER, 6on of George Kenton Harper, was born at Chambersburg, Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1808, and, like his father, became a publisher. When about sixteen years old he weut 
to Staunton, Virginia, to learn the printing business under his brother, General Kenton Harper, 
who then published the Staunton Spectator. He remained with his brother till about 1829, when 
he was twenty-one years old. He then set out in business on his own account, and in 1830 issued 
the first number of the South Branch Intelligencer at Romney. With the exception of about four 
years during the war, when he could not publish a paper in Romney, he continued to edit the 
Intelligencer till his death in 1887, a period of fifty-seven years. Mr. Harper was twice married, 
first to Miss Nancy Newman, daughter of Dr. Newman, who dying in 1865, Mr. Harper, in 1867, 
married Miss Sallie L. Kane. He had seven children : Bruce, who died in Romney ; Robert and 
Granville, who died in Baltimore ; William, who died in Las Vegas, New Mexico ; Lee, also dead ; 
Nancy, who married Mr. Pattie, of Iowa, and Altmra, who married James Sheetz, of Romney, 
who was several terms sheriff of Hampshire County. 

The Romney branch of the Harper family was closely related to the Newmans. A sketch 
of Dr. Newman is given elsewhere in this book, and it is proper at this place to speak somewhat 
fully of Mrs. Newman aud her ancestors and descendants. She was a remarkable woman, one of 
tho>-e who, in dying, leave an unfilled place. In this world, some people, who seem important, die 
and are not missed. Others are never replaced. Mrs. Newman was of the latter class. She was 
of English descent, her grandfather, John Ocle, h-vving emigrated from England to Philadelphia 
in the early part of the eighteenth century. His daughter Anna was the mother of Mrs. New- 
man, and married Thomas Neale, of Virginia, and In her old age lived in Romney, in the latter 
part of the seventeenth century. Her eldest daughter Elizabeth married John Hancock, of Fair- 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 



711 



fas, in 1784. Upon the death of Mr. Hancock, she married Dr. Newman, and resided at Old 
Town, Maryland, and later, in Romney, where she died in 1866, aged ninetj-nine years, having 
been born in 1767. 

C. S. HOUSER, of Okonoko, a telegrapher, was born 1871 ; son of Peter and Bnphina Hou- 
ser; Swiss ancestry ; married, 1895, Bertha, daughter of Levi and Etta Sperow. Their child's 
name is Bath. 

FRANKLIN HERBIOTT, farmer of Wappacomo, son of Epbraim and Eliza Herriott, was 
born in 1844, of Scotch, Irish, and Welsh ancestry ; married, 1881, Susan E., daughter of J. M. 
and Margaret Rees, of Virginia ; children, Wade R., Charles F., Lillie E., and William D. 

J. W. HASS, farmer of South Branch, was born 1836 ; son of Abram and Mary A. Hass ; 
ancestry, German, Scotch, and Irish ; married, 1870, Roberta C, daughter of Joseph and Harriet 
Taylor; children, Mary Belle, Hattie L, Charles T., William R., and Sarah C. 

J. W. HAINES, of Green Spring, farmer, son of Isaac and Jane Haines, was born 1844 ; 
married, 1866, Sarah, daughter of George and Rosanna Smith ; children, Anna J., Susan E., 
Bertha V., George E., Lucy C, William G., and John I. 

T. L. HOWSER, of Green Spring; railroading; son of Solomon and Nancy Howser; born of 
German ancestry, in Maryland, 1864; married, 1886, Annie E., daughter of Joseph and Susan 
Shumate; children, Cynthia V., Allie M., Charles V., C. Margaret, Daisy B., and William T. 

J. T. HANSELL, farmer of Wappacomo, son of Solomon and Bebecca Hansell, was born in 
Maryland, 1842; German ancestry; married, 1886, Jennie, daughter of Alexander and Eliza 
Jeffrey; children, William P., Lloyd H., Flocie R., and Garret H. Mr. Hansen's first wife was 
Mary Chaney, of Maryland ; children, Emma, Jennie, Joseph H., John, Paul, and Annie. 

T. R. HENDERSON, of Higginsvllle, mechanic, son of James J. and Jane Henderson, was 
born 1845, of Scotch and Irish ancestry; married, 1865, Mary J., daughter of Peter and Elizabeth 
McBride ; children, Lizzie J., Margaret A., J. L., and R. H. 

C. W. HAUGH, of Old Town; railroading; son of Wesley and Elizabeth Haugh, born 1850 ; 
Irish and English ancestry ; married, 1872, Lydia, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Piper, of Mary- 
land ; children, James A., John W., Charles F., Cora M., Edgar M., Benjamin 0., and Bessie E. 

D. F. HEFLEBOWER, now a Kansas farmer, was a former resident of Hampshire. He was 
born in Jefferson County, this State, of German ancestry, in 1828. He is a son of David and 
Mary A. Heflebower. In 1866 he married Margaret E., daughter of Samuel H. and Mary A. 
Frayier ; children, William H., Frances K., and Luella. 

DAVID H. HEFLEBOWER was bom in Jefferson County, West Virginia, January 1, 1836. 
His parents were David and Mary Heflebower, and he was the eighth in a family of eleven chil- 
dren. His family was of German descent, and the original American home of the Heflebowers 
was Pennsylvania. In 1842 the family moved from Jefferson to Hampshire County, settling in 
the eastern portion near Capon Bridge. Here, on the farm, David grew to maturity. On reach- 
ing the age of twenty-one years the charm of the new west, rich in possibilities of development, 
drew him to Missouri, and thence in the course of a year to eastern" Kansas, where he located in 
Miami County. Under the energetic labors of himself and others, who like him sought fortunes 
in what the geographers of the day oddly enough called the " great American desert," the raw 
and virgin prairie became a garden, and among the most prosperous was the young West Virgin- 
ian. He witnessed the rise of the border troubles and served honorably in the ranks of the 
Unionists during the war. David H. Heflebowerand Lucy A. Holdern were married December 
12, 1860, in Miami County. Kansas, and their union was blessed with seven children, — one son and 
six daughters. Born a Democrat, Mr. Heflebower remained consistent in that faith until the 
Greenback party was formed, when he became a member of that organization and was the 
party's candidate for the office of State Treasurer in the campaign of 1884. He.joined the ranks 
of the People's party when that movement came into prominence, and in 1896 was the party 
nominee for the same office. One of the most intense and exciting campaigns in the State's 
history, during which his party was deeply indebted to his wisdom, popularity, and generous 
liberality, resulted in victory for the Populist organization, and in January following the newly 
elected Treasurer assumed his official duties. About the State House at Topeka, "Uncle Dave," 
as he is familiarly called by a large circle of admiring and affectionate friends, is a prominent and 
welcome figure. He is the kind of a man that children instinctively follow, to whom those in 
trouble tell their griefs, while at the same time his counsel is sought by the chief financial mag- 
nates of the State. His jealous guardianship of the public interests has brought him a well- 
earned fame and the entire confidence of the people of Kansas. But his official honors are 
modestly borne, and he is still the plain and jovial farmer of former years. His magnificent 
series of farms in his home counties, consisting of over two thousand acres, still constitutes his 
home, and witnesses the exercise of the large-hearted hospitality which preserves the traditions 
of his earlier Virginian home. 

GEORGE L. HERNDON, of Romney, bookkeeper, was born in Fauquier County, 1853 ; 
Scotch and Irish ancestry ; son of Richard and Elizabeth J. Herndsn ; married, 1879, to Mary A., 
daughter of Reuben and Martha Bonuey ; children, Reuben B., Richard N., Janet S., and Mar- 



712 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



tba R. Reuben Bonney came from Norfolk to Hampshire in 1849. He was born in Princess 
Anne County, Virginia, Angust 23, 1812, and was educated at Alleghany College, Meadviile, Penn- 
sylvania. While at school he was married to Miss Martha Jane Hall, daughter of Jacob Hull, 
and niece of Commodore Isaac Hull. There were seven brothers. Mrs. Bonney's mother's name 
was Stowe, and she was a sister of Mrs. Decatur, wife of Commodore Decatur. Thus the families 
of the two commodores were closely connected. Mrs. Bonney was educated at Steubenville, Ohio. 
Mr. Bonney was for many years a magistrate in Hampshire County. 

J. H. HAINES, farmer of Romney district, son of William and Catherine Haines, was 
born 1848; married, 1873, to Lucretia, daughter of George W. and Catherine Shank; children, 
George W. F., Charles E. P., Fannie, Annie, Sallie B., Mary J., Eliza E., John F. 

A. D. HAYS, of Romney; teacher; son of John W. and Elizabeth Hays, of Monongalia 
County ; born in Marion County, 1856; married, 1883, to Grace 0., daughter of C. W. and Susan 
Smith, of Gowanda, New York ; children, Walter Lee and Grace Dudley. Mr. Hays has been 
connected with the West Virginia schools for the deaf, dumb, and blind for twenty-six years ; 
six years a pupil ; three years foreman of the cabinet shops ; thirteen years a printer of the Tablet. 
He has taught seventeen years in the institution. 

C. E. HEATWOLE, justice of the peace in Romney district, was born 1851 ; son of John E. 
and Jane M. Heatwole ; English and German ancestry ; married, 1877 t to Helen, daughter of A. J. 
and Elizabeth A. Kreemer, of Virginia ; children, Cora B., Robert L., E. M., F. I., and Charles. 

WILLIAM R. HOUSEHOLDER, of Romney; railroading; German and Irish descent; son 
of William F. and Hannah A. Householder ; born in Maryland, 1870 ; married, 1894, to Minnie 
L., daughter of Samuel and Rebecca Swisher; son, Clarence C. 

W. V. HERRIOTT, of Cumberland, Maryland, was born in Hampshire County, 1828 ; eon of 
Ephrahu and Eliza Herriott ; Scotch ancestry ; occupation, miller ; married Margaret A., daughter 
of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Hightman, of Maryland. Their daughter's name is Ellen. 

0. W. HAINES, merchant of Romney, son of Silas and Elizabeth Haines, was born 1863, of 
German and Irish ancestry; married, 1893, to Sallie E., daughter of Alexander and Maggie 
Monroe; children, Blair M. and Lysle M. 

J. S. HEATH, of Romney ; butcher; German ancestry ; son of W P. and Mary Heath; born 
1863; married, 1891, to Priscilla, daughter of Edward and Caroline Brown. 

JAMES HOWARD, farmer of Romney district, son of Frederick and Grace Howard, was 
born at Paw Paw, 1809; married, 1870, to Mary, daughter of Harry and Maria Bias; children, 
Charles S., Rowena B., Aaron F., Charlotte C, Abraham H., and Susanna. 

M. G. HARMISON, farmer of Romney district, was born in Harrison County, 1868; son of 
Charles and Elizabeth Harmison ; married, 1891, to Kate, daughter of Isaac and Emma Parsons; 
children, Robert W., Emma W., and Philip C. 

FRANCIS E. HEARE, farmer and trader of Sherman district, son of Francis L. and Grace 
A. Ileare, Irish ancestry, was born 1861 ; married Abigail J., daughter of James and Elizabeth 
Davidson, of Hardy County, 1884; children, Claude K., Sephrone M., Clara D., Lulu G., and 

Viola F. 

GEORGE H. HOTT, farmer and mechanic of Sherman district, son of David and Malinda 
Hott, German and English ancestry, was born 1848; married Abbie J., daughter of Elisha and 
Matilda Heare; children, Garrett D., Robert O, Carrington E., Donald E., and Georganna G. 

JAMES C. HEARE, merchant of Sherman, son of John A. G. and Elizabeth A. Heare, 
Irish ancestry, was born 1858; married Mary V., daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth Walker, of 
Hardy County, 1889; children, Fannie W. and Lucy E. 

DAVID M. HAINES, farmer near Kirby, son of Peter and Catherine Haines, German 
par< atage. was born 1845; married Cathfrine, daughter of John and Elizabeth Lockender ; chil- 
dren, John L., Teter, Sarah, Edward E., Hampton, Lillie, and Hannah ; owns four hundred and 
eighty-five acres, one hundred and fiity improved. 

J. T. HOWARD, cabinet-maker, residing near Rio, son of William H. and Mary Howard, 
English and Irish parentage, was born in North Carolina, 1840 ; married Emma, daughter of 
Jos- pta and Emeline Emmons, 1868; children, Helen F., William M., Annie B., Mary E., Charles 
0., Thomas D., Edgar B., Joseph C, James L., Hota H., and Bessie. 

J. W. HAINES, farmer of Sherman, son of Philip and Catherine Haines, German extraction, 
was born 1844; married Sarah A , daughter of James and Rebecca French, 1875; children, 
Minor W.. Loretto M., Flora B., Henry E., Leonard F., Berzelia H., and Granville H. 

1. MINOR HAINES, farmer near Pleasant Dale, son of Philip and Catherine Haines, German 
descent, was born 1849; married Bettie M., daughter of Mordecai and J. A. Orndorff, 1874; 
children. Carrie B., A. Gilbert,- Myrtle A., Rumsey S., Theodore A., Mary E., Bessie C, and 
Robert D. 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 



713 



BENJAMIN M. HAINES, son of Philip and Catherine Haines, German ancestry, was born 
1840; married Nancy E., daughter of Zephyrine and Eliza Offutt, 1867 : children, Lee, Etta, 
William, Catherine, Maggie, Ambrose, Daniel, Albert, Edward, Benjamin 0., and Rosa. 

BEAZIN HAINES, farmer near Slanesvllle, son of Daniel and Elizabeth Haines, German 
ancestry, was born 1819 ; married Elizabeth, daughter of Michael and Susan Tnsing, 1842 ; chil- 
dren, Margaret A., Salemma J., John H., Jennie, Malissa, and Jaspar F. 

A. C. HAINES, farmer of Gore district, son of Philip and Catherine Haines, German 
parentage, was born 1855; married Chloe M., daughter of Jacob and Margaret Shanholtzer, 
1884; children, Salemma M., Rosa B., Stella M. s Elmer P. L., and Wilda C. 

JOHN W. HOTT, farmer of Gore, son of David and Mary A. Hott, English ancestry, was 
born 1850; married J. E. F. Hott, daughter of James and Caroline Hott, 1876 ; children, Charles 
T., Austin E., Verdie V., Marshall, William D., Rosa M. B., Osee V., and Ida F. 

FOBMAN INSKEEP, farmer of Romney district, son of William and Susan R. Inskeep, 
of English ancestry, was born 1804 ; married, 1849, to Alverdah, daughter of Levi and Mary A. 
Cain. 

R. M. JOHNSON, farmer of Capon district, son of Elias Johnson, was married to Sarah, 
daughter of John Larrick; children, Fannie Cordelia, Bradley E., Evan C, Nettie E., Rena, 
Blanche, Montie, Bertha J., and Jessie. Mr. Johnson was in the Confederate army, was wounded 
at Grassy Lick and at Banker Hill, and was in the battle of Gettysburg. 

ZACH ABIAS E. JOHNSON, farmer of Gore district, son of Zacharias and Rebecca Johnson, 
was born 1869; married, 1891, Elizabeth B., daughter of Franklin and Virginia Ewers, of Vir- 
ginia; children, J. E., Nannie V., and Zacharias F. 

ZACHARIAS JOHNSON, farmer of Gore district, son of Israel and Mary Johnson, Scotch 
and German descent, was born, 1830, in the house where he still resides. The bouse is about 
one hundred and fifty years old, perhaps the oldest in the county. It has always been in the 
Johnson family. In 1860 he married Rebecca, daughter of George and Elizabeth Stickley ; chil- 
dren, Ella, Lucy, I. F., Susie, George B., Zacharias E., Isaac B , Thomas K., E. M., Lake, Verna 
E., and Cora B. Mr. Johnson is a large stock raiser, and ownfe sixteen hundred acres. 

CLARK JACKSON, teamster, resident of Romney district, son of Solomon and Eliza Jack- 
son, was born 1842 ; married, 1880, to Martha, daughter of Richard and Jane Jackson ; children, 
Jennie, William H., Solomon, and Georgia A. 

JOHN J. JACOB, the first Democratic governor of West Virginia, and a citizen whose name 
is connected with both tbe political and business interests of the State, was born in Hampshire 
County, December 9, 1829. His father was a minister of the Methodist Church, and was the 
author of "Jacob's Life of Cresap," mention of which will be found in another part of this 
volume. The family, as far back as any record exists, has been one of ability and influence. 
Governor Jacob's father was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, belonging to a Maryland regi- 
ment. It has been said that the song " Yankee Doodle" was composed to satirize this regiment, 
because the soldiers were better dressed than those of any other regiment in tbe American ser- 
vice. But this cannot be vouched for in serious? history. It is well known that " Yankee Doo- 
dle," at least the tune, was popular long before the Revolutionary War. If it was applied in 
any way to the soldiers of the Maryland Regiment to which Mr. Jacob belonged, it was simply 
as " an old song turned up again." Rev. Jacobs married, as his first wife, the widow of Michael 
Cresap, and as his second wife married Miss Susan McDavitt, who was the mother of Governor 
Jacob. She died in 1880. In 1839 she took up her residence in Romney, and her son was sent to 
school at the " Classical Institute." The Literary Society of Romney was then in the zenith of 
its power and usefulness, and the school under its management was one of the best in the State 
at that time. After completing the course at Romney, Mr. Jacob entered Dickinson College, at 
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and graduated 1849. He taught school in Hampshire, studying law in 
the mean time. In 1853 he was appointed to a professorship in the Missouri University, and 
filled a chair in that institution until 1860. The beginning of the Civil War broke up the univer- 
sity, and he resumed his law practice and remained in Missouri until 1865, when he returned to 
Romney and opened a law office. In 1869 he was elected on the Democratic ticket to tbe legis- 
lature, and at once attracted general notice for his abilities. 

The next year, 1870, he was nominated for governor of West Virginia, and was elected to 
fill a term from March 4, 1871, to March 3, 1873. In 1872 the Democratic party was split. There 
were two candidates for governor, Johnson N. Camden and John J. Jacob. The Republicans 
supported Jacob, and he was elected. He served until 1877. On the expiration of his term lie 
opened a law office in Wheeling, and resided there until his death. He was elected to tbe legis- 
lature from Ohio County, 1879 ; and in 1881 Governor Jackson appointed him judge of the first 
circuit to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Thayer Melvin, and iu 1882 he was 
elected to fill the office to the end of the term, 1888. 

HENRY CLAY KTJYKENDALL, vice-president of the Vicksburg (Mississippi) Bank, was 
orn near Ridgeville, Hampshire, now Mineral County, 1833. He is a son of Nathaniel and 
illy Kuykendall, and is of German parentage on his father's side, and Scotch and Irish on his 
other's side. Her maiden name was Abernathy. In 1868 he married Letitia Kate, daughter 
f Alexander H. and Sarah C. Arthur, of Vicksburg. Their children are Sallie, who died in 
tfancy, and Carrie Belle. 



714 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



FREDERICK T. KETTEB, farmer of Bloomery, son of John and Emily Keiter, was born 
1867; English ancestry; married, 1882, Lncy, daughter of John and Dolly Clark, of Virginia; 
children, George L., Grace B., Clark, Elsie M., Dolly E., and Edgar L. He owns two hundred 
and twenty-five acres, seventy-five improved, twenty-eight miles from Bomney. 

ISAAC P. KELLET, farmer of Bloomery, son "of Thomas and Bosanna Kelley ; Lrish and 
German ancestors; born 1852 ; married, 1884, Lydia, daughter of Washington and Elizabeth 
Whitacre ; children, John H. and Pearl E. He owns ninety acres, forty improved. 

LOBENZO W. KID WELL; farmer of Bloomery, son of James and Mary Kidwell, was born 
of English parentage, 1845 ; married, 1876, Lucinda, daughter of Evan and Sarah Kidwell ; chil- 
dren, Delia M., Ida A., Daisy M., Lily M., Odis T., and James 0. 

B. F. KTJMP, farmer of Capon district, son of Jacob and Julia A. Kump, German parentage, 
was born 1841 ; married Frances M., daughter of Sylvester and Nancy Budolpb, 1873; children, 
Garnett K ., Herman G., "\%Rjtota V., and Otelia V. Mr. Kump fought through the war as a Confed- 
erate. His grandfether was a soldier in the Bevolution, his father in the War of 1812. He owns 
five hundred acres, one-half improved, twenty-eight miles from Bomney. 

A. L. KELSOE, farmer of High View, son of James and Annie C. Kelsoe, was born 1837 ; 
Scotch and Irish extraction ; married Hannah M., daughter of Enos and Bosa A. Spaid, 1861; 
children, Curtis E., Jennie C, Luella B., Harry T., Mahlon L., Edward P., Lemuel S., Albertis 
L., Flossie M., and Evan M. The first four named are dead. 

JOSEPH A. KELSOE, farmer of Capon, son of James and Annie Kelsoe, Irish descent, was 
born 1828; married Elizabeth C, daughter of Samuel and Joanna Milslagle, 1850 ; children, 
Sarah V., Annie B., Ida C, Laura E., John N., Carter G., Isaac E. G., and Olive Willetta, Mr. 
Kelsoe was a Confederate soldier, and died 1894. 

LEMUEL F. KLINE, farmer of Capon, son of Philip and Elizabeth Kline, was born 
1841 ; German and Irish parentage; married Sarah A., daughter of Jacob and Lydia Burkholder, 
of Bockingham County, 1867 ; children, Isaac N., Clement H, Bessie M., Annie B., Mary E., 
Philip T., Signora A., and Madison B. Mr. Kline was in tbe Confederate service. 

THOMAS KUTKENDALL, merchant of Paw Paw, son of James and Hannah L. Kuyken- 
dall, was born in Maryland, 1854; married, 1883, Kate T., daughter of Edward and Mary McGill, 
of Maryland : children, James E., Mary W., William W., Lucy B., Helen M., and Harry B. 

THE0DOBE KLEIN, farmer of Gore district, son of Joseph and Catherine Klein, was born 
at Hagerstown, Maryland, 1871 ; German descent; married, 1892, Minnie, daughter of Joseph 
and Susan Borringer ; children, Vancie and Zaney V. 

A. J. KLEIN, of Gore district, near Okonoko ; railroader; son of Henry and Catherine 
Kline; German parentage; born near Frostburg, Maryland, 1857; married, 1882, Annie M M 
daughter of Edward and Mary E. Northcraft, of Maryland; children, Charles A., Clement, 
Edith M., Mary C, Henry E., Eva L., Paul H. 

JACOB F. KLINE, farmer of Gore district, residing near Paw Paw, son of Joseph and Cath- 
erine Kline, was born at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 1859; German ancestry: married, 1885, 
Nannie J., daughter of Thomas A. and Martha A. Largent ; children, Zella M. and Maggie V. 

JAMES W. KAYLOB, farmer of Gore, near Spring Gap, son of A. J. and Mary E. Kaylor, 
was born 1855; married, 1889, Elizabeth A., daughter of James W. and Priscilla Montgomery, of 
Pennsylvania ; children, Lily M., Arthur A., Maggie B., Clarence G., and Eliza V. 

ADAM KAYLOB, farmer of Gore district, eon of Josiah and Mary Kaylor, was born in 
Frederick County, 1831 : German descent ; married, 1866, Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel and Kis- 
siah Largent. Mr. Kaylor was married in 1890 to Miss Mary E. Floyd. 

FKEDERICK L. KERNS, farmer residing near Okonoko, in Gore district, son of Frederick 
and Margaret Kerns ; German and Welsh descent ; born 1833 ; married, 1862, Mary E., daughter 
of Thomas and Catherine Hartley, of Maryland; children, Ellsworth, Margaret A., Eddie, Isaiah, 
J. F., Bachel C, Annie M., and Susan C. 

F. A. KENNEY, farmer, resident of Springfield district, son of Patrick and Mary J. Kenney, 
of Irish ancestry, was born 1869 ; married, 1892, to Eliza, daughter of William and Frances 
Sherwood. 

JOHN KAYLOR, of Springfield, farmer, son of Nicholas and Rebecca Kaylor, of English 
ancestry, was born 1840; married, 1858, to S. Elizabeth, daughter of William aud Annie Day;' 
children, Thomas W., Mary E., Edward, and Hattie. . J 

J. L. K U X KENDALL, merchant of Springfield, son of James and Hannah KuykendallJ 
German ancestry, was born in Maryland, 1849 ; married, 1887, to Ida R., daughter of Samuel 
Susan McGlathery. Their child is Susan G. Kuykendall. j 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 



715 



LEMUEL KERNS, of Springfield, mechanic, son of Amos and Sevilla Kerns, was bom 1858 ; 
married, 1887, to Laura P., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 0. T. Banister, of Massachusetts ; children, 
Myrtle V., Picker, Edith M., and Virgil E. 

T. P. KEYS, son of J. W. and A M. Keys, of German ancestry, was born at Keyser, Jnne 
18,1874. 

HENBY CLAY KUYKENDALL, a former resident of Hampshire, and at present vice- 
president of the Vicksbnrg Bank, at Vicksburg, Mississippi, was born near Bidgeville, in the 
present connty of Mineral, in 1833; son of Nathaniel and Sally (nie Abernathy) Knykendall; 
ancestry, Scotch and Irish; married, 1868, to Letitia Kate, daughter of Alexander H. and Sarah 
C. Arthur, of Vicksburg, Mississippi; children, Sallie, born November 15, 1869, died July 16,"' 
1870; and Carrie Belle. 

ASHBY KAVE, farmer, resident of Bomney district, son of Isaac and Eliza Kave, of Irish 
ancestry, was born at Luray, Virginia, 1868; married, 1889, to Ida L., daughter of William and 
Sarah Maphis ; children, Ettie, Bertha V., Annie F., and Isaac G. 

JOSEPH A. KELLEY, farmer, resident of Bomney district, son of Larkin C. and Fannie 
Kelley, of Irish and German ancestry, was born 1843 ; married, 1867, to Mary M., daughter of 
Tobias and Maria Stickley, of Virginia ; his daughter's name is Maria B. 

WILLIAM KUYKENDALL, farmer, resident of Bomney district, son of James and Hannah 
L. Knykendall, of German ancestry, was born in Alleghany County, Maryland, 1852 ; married, 
1878, to Hannah P., daughter of James and Maggie Sloan; children, James S., Michael B., 
Bicbard S, and William F. 

J. I. KELLER, hotel keeper, resident of Bomney, son of Thomas A. and Margaret A. Keller, 
of German and English ancestry, was born near Oakland, Maryland, 1852 ; married, 1888, to 
Louisa A., daughter of A. C. and Mary De Witt, of Maryland ; children, Mary B. and Margaret I. 

EMANUEL LILLEB, farmer of Mill Creek district, was born, 1848, of English parentage ; 
son of Henry and Charlotte Liller; married, 1869, to Mary C, daughter of George and Elizabeth 
Bobo; children, Mary K, Amelia A., Martha A., George T., William, Clara, Joseph, Nora, and 
Niota. 

MISS LENA LEATHERMAN, of Mill Creek, a teacher by profession, was born, 1876, of 
German and English parentage ; daughter of John M. and Amanda J. Leathernian. Miss 
Leatherman has attended the Shenandoah Normal College three terms, and has taught four 
terms of school. 

GEORGE W. LEATHERMAN, son of John Lewis Leatherman, of English and German 
descent, was born in Hampshire, 1835. In 1851, when his father died, he decided to seek his for- 
tune in the west; and with pluck and perseverance made the trip to Missouri, travelling till 
late in the fall through rain and mud. He and his brother took charge of the family in the new 
country, and endured much sickness and privation. Mr. Leatherman returned to Hampshire to 
sell the home farm, but failed to sell it. He then made up his mind to buy out the other heirs, 
which he did, and, having married Mary S. Whip, he settled down to an industrious life, and 
would have worked on had he been let alone. But he was drafted for the rebel army, and not 
choosing to fight on that side, he hurried away to Indiana. In 1862 he came back and was not 
molested. His wife died some time afterwards, leaving him six children. He kept his family 
together, and in 1877 married Catherine Thrush. His children are Warren W., John W., Zede- 
kiah A., Mary Elizabeth, George S., and Emma Margaret. He is an ordained minister of the 
German Baptist Church. 

SAMUEL H. LABGENT, of Bloomery; farmer; son of Thomas F. and Sarah Largent; 
French ancestry; born 1842; married, 1868, Lucy A., daughter of DeBkin and Ann Wills; 
children, G. S., Thomas D., Albert H., Nannie M. He owns nine hundred and eighty acres, 
four hundred improved. 

JOHN LARGENT, farmer of Bloomery, son of Joseph and Mary Largent, was born 1826; 
French parentage; he owns three hundred acres, with interest in other lands. 

ALBERT 0. LOVETT, farmer of Bloomery, son of Jonathan and Nancy R. Lovett, was 
born in Frederick County, 1847 ; married, 1869, Mary S., daughter of Harvey and Esther Park ; 
children. Nettie R. and Harry P. He was married the second time, in 1877, to Annie, daughter 
of Mr. and Mrs. Hiett Loy ; children, Joel G., Hetzel H., Albert Brown. He owns eighteen 
hundred acres, half improved. 

JOHN A. LEWIS, of Bloomery ; painter; son of William and Margaret F. Lewis ; German 
ancestry; born 1868; married, 1883, Fannie L., daughter of Eli J. and Margaret E. Nel6on ; chil- 
dren, Roy A. and Leslie A. 

P. W. LOY, farmer of Bloomery, son of Hiett and Sarah Loy, was born 1857; Irish ances- 
try; married, 1883, Sarah V., daughter of Jacob and Jane Ziler, of Virginia; children, RoyS., 
" ^P.j tJ. j* »^i .jCi#4» > -T y^<Nfc»' pK< w i Jftggi hundred and twenty-five acres, three hundred improved, 
r served tfwd.Wffllir** president of &c board of education. 




716 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



SILA6 LABGENT, farmer of Bloomery, son of Samuel and Mary Largent, was born 1829 ; 
English ancestry ; married, 1858, Sarah E., daughter of Bobert M. and Mary Powell ; children, 
Mary E., Henrietta, and David S. In 1864 his wife and three children died within three months. 
He served threa years as a Confederate soldier ; was taken prisoner in Martinsburg in 1863. 

GEOEGE A. LTJPTON, farmer of Capon, son of Jonathan and Catherine Lupton, was born 
1862. He taught nine terms of school ; was elected magistrate of Capon district, 1888, and elected 
commissioner of the court, 1892. 

THOMAS L. LAEBICK, farmer of Capon, son of John and Margaret Larrick, Irish 
ancestry, was born 1863 ; married Louisa, daughter of Harmon and Sarah Oates, 1888 ; owns one 
hundred and fifteen acres, seventy-five improved. 

LUTHER LINEBUBG, farmer of Capon, son of Louis and Eliza Lineburg, English extrac- 
tion, was born in Frederick County, 1872 ; married Elizabeth, daughter of Madison and Martha 
Elliott ; children, Nellie and Ollie. 

T. S. LAFOLLETTE, farmer of Capon, son of Amos and Bachel Lafollette, French an- 
cestry, was born 1854 ; married Fannie, daughter of Louis and Enieline Arnold, 1875 ; children, 
Delina L. and Lower E. P. 

BENJAMIN S. LAEBICK, fanner of Capon, son of Jacob and Harriet Larrick, German 
ancestry, was born in Frederick County, 1842; married Elizabeth, daughter of David and 
Jemima Farmer, of Frederick County, 1866. Their child's name is Smith. Mr. Larrick 

I served four years in the Confederate army. He owns one hundred and eighty-seven acres, 

f seventy-five improved. 

SILAS LAFOLLETTE, farmer of Capon, son of William and Jane Lafollette, was born 
of French and Irish parentage, 1820 ; married Sarah J., daughter of Richard and Hannah 
Johnson, 1860; children, Richard, Lemon L., William, and IvenS. He was in the Confederate 
army. He owns two hundred acres, one-half improved. 

PETEB LABGENT, of Gore district, near North Biver Mills, son of Thomas F. and Sarah 
Largent, was born 1839 ; German descent; married, 1863, Eliza J., daughter of Bobert and Eva 
Edwards; children, Sarah E., Mary L., Margaret E. H., Anna L., Bobert T., and George E. F. 

T. S. LABGENT, farmer residing near Slanesville, son of Thomas F. and Sarah Largent, was 
born of German parentage, 1862; married, 1883, Leona S., daughter of William and Frances 
Wills ; children, Edna M., Flournoy L., Charles B., and Brady W. 

JOHN J. LABGENT, farmer residing in Gore district, near Paw Paw, son of John and 
Jennie Largent, was born 1827 ; Irish parentage ; married, 1855, Mary, daughter of George and 
Sallie Moorehead; children, Anna E., Mary C, Nettie V., B. B., Jeremiah, J. W., and Amanda F. 

HERMAN LEDEBEB, farmer of Springfield district, eon of John and Johannah Lederer, 
of German ancestry, was born in Germany, 1864 ; married, 1889, to Laura V., daughter of Je6se 
and Bebecca Lewis ; children, Jesse L., John M., Elizabeth J., and Virginia B. 

MIDDLETON LEWIS, farmer, resident of Springfield district, son of Silas and Louisa 
Lewis, of German ancestry, was born 1833; married, 1856, to Eliza A., daughter of John and 
Mary Hanners ; children, John N., Silas F., Sophia H., Hannah E., Maria C, and Virginia G. 

T. J. LEWIS, farmer, resident of Springfield, son of Silas and Louisa Lewis, of Irish and 
German ancestry, was born 1844; married, 1878, to Barbara E., daughter of Pierce and Mary 
Barns ; children, M. C, Estella M., and Thomas G. 

WILLIAM J. LONG, farmer, resident of Springfield district, son of David and Christina 
Long, of German and French ancestry, was born 1829; married, 1849, to S. M., daughter of 
Jaoob and Mary Taylor; children, Mary C, Simon, David W., W. F., A. L., Thomas J., John A., 
and Charles T. 

UBIAH LONG, farmer, resident of Springfield district, son of Isaac and Charity Long, of 
German ancestry, was born in Maryland, 1865; married, 1893, to Hannah L., daughter of Isaac 
and Fannie B. Taylor ; children, Isaac T., Francis C, and Mary S f 

W. F. LEABT, of Bomney district; miller; son of Benjamin and Virginia Leary; Irish and 
German ancestry ; born in Marylaud, 1864 : married, 1889, to Victoria, daughter of James and 
Maggie Shull; children, Otie, George W., and Maggie. 

GEOEGE A. LINCH, farmer of Bomney district, son of Charles and Mary Linch, was born 
in Hardy County; married Caroline, daughter of Alexander and Anna M. Malcom ; children, 
Laura V., George W., John E., William A., and George F. 

B. F. LINTHICTJM, of Bomney ; stage-driver; son of Joel and Jane H. Linthicum ; ancestors, 
German and Irish ; born 1847 ; married, 1881, to Bebecca, d»«j|bi«^W*J.Anji Aahsah Pola^ • 
children, Charles VT., Anna B., and Katie E. . v >',. •'•■» '• •> ' '''■"■< t 




FAMILY SKETCHES. 



7i7 



WILLIAM LOT, farmer of Romney district, was born 1834 ; son of Samuel and Leah Loy ; 
German parentage ; married, 1863, to Jane P., daughter of W. H. and Mary A. Smith; children, 
James B., Mary C, Martha L., Bettie R., Cornelius C, Minerva C, Jane P., Georgia M., Daniel 
M., Sadie M., and Nannie E. 

L W. LAMBERT, teacher and farmer residing near Augusta; son of L. W. and Mary Lam- 
bert; born in Pendleton County, 1868; married Sarah F., daughter of John W. and Virginia 
Haines, of Maryland, 1893 ; children, Charles E. and Ansel C. 

EDGAR J. LOY, farmer and teacher of 8herman district, son of William and Rebecca Loy, 
was born of German and Irish parentage, 1868 ; married Martha R., daughter of James T. and 
Caroline Ruckman, 1891. He has taught nine terms of school. 

WILLIAM L. LTJPTON, farmer residing near Rio, English ancestry, was born 1846 ; mar- 
ried Era A., daughter of Frederick and Sarah Mank; children, Lucinda C, Harriet R., Walter 
O, Ada A., Robert E., William F., and Clarence F. 

TJ. L. MILLER, a farmer of Mill Creek, son of Jacob and Annie Miller, was born near 
Keyser, 1854. of German ancestry ; married, 1893, to Amanda, daughter of S. and Damoris Biser ; 
their child's name is David F. Mrs. Biser has been twice married, her first husband being 
David Walker, who was born in 1861 and died in 1886 ; children, Lillie F., Homer A., and 
Walker. 

GEORGE W. MERITT, farmer of Mill Creek, son of George and Annie B. Meritt, was born 
1862, of German ancestry ; married, 1889, to Rosetta, daughter of Joseph and Mary Shoemaker; 
children, Ethel C. and Georgia L. 

CHARLES J. MoGEE, farmer of Mill Creek, son of Charles and Hannah McGee, of Irish 
and German ancestry, was born in Pennsylvania, 1843; married, 1865, to Margaret C, daughter 
of George and Susan Hartman ; children, George S., Charles A. [Mr. McGee's second wife 
was Harriet, daughter of John and Molly Fleming. 

CHARLES F. MILLER, farmer near Purgitsville, son of Charles and Louisa Miller, was 
born, 1856, in Hardy County, of German ancestry; married, 1877, to Sarah F., daughter of John 
and Eliza Shoemaker; children, Samantha L. and Lafayette C, who is an adopted child. Mr. 
Miller owns one hundred and seventy-six acres of land. 

OLIVER MESSIC, a farmer near Romney, was born in Hampshire County, 1861, of German 
ancestry ; son of Thomas and Rachel Messic ; married, 1887, to Tabitha, daughter of Isaac and 
Hannah Tinibrook ; children, Garret I. T., Osceola, Hildred, and Mildred. 

E. J. McATEE, farmer of Bloomery, son of Robert and Drusilla McAtee, was born of Irish 
parentage, 1854; married, 1877, Charlotte A., daughter of John and Margaret L. Bradfield ; 
children, Hettie M. and Sarah B. 

S. C. McDONALD, merchant of Gore district, son of Sidnor and Mary J. McDonald, Irish 
ancestry, was born in Frederick County, 1850. He has been in the mercantile business at 
Hanging Rocks six years. 

JAMES D. McCOOL, farmer of Bloomery, son of John and Cassandra McCool, was born 1823 ; 
Scotch and Irish ; married, 1852, Emeline C, daughter of Joseph S. and Mary Baker, of Virginia ; 
children, John S., Perry C , Mary C, Elizabeth, Theodore, Thomas, Virginia, Lucy K., Ida, Leslie, 
and Ora. He owns twelve hundred and fourteen acres, two hundred improved. He belonged to 
the Hampshire militia under Colonel Alexander Monroe, was in the fight at Hanging Rocks. 
He was afterwards in the regular Confederate army, in Captain Ginevan's company. He has 
several times filled the office of justice of peace ; was president of the board of education five 
years ; for thirty years was road overseer. 

MARION McDONALD, farmer of Bloomery, son of J. H. and Mary V. McDonald, was born 
of Scotch parentage, 1870; married, 1894, Sarah E., daughter of Luther and Elizabeth Bennett. 
Their child's name is Mary E. 

HUGH McDONALD, carpenter and farmer of Bloomery, son of Hugh and Elizabeth Mc- 
Donald, was born in Pennsylvania, 1842 ; Irish descent ; married, 1869, Louisa, daughter of Josiah 
and Margaret A. Surbaugh ; children, Alpheus A., Fannie A., Joseph E , George W., Mary S., 
and W. M. 

DARKEN G. H. P. MILLFR, farmer of Bloomery, son of Jeremiah and Mary Miller, was 
born 1854; English ancestry; married, 1881, Mary A., daughter of Nimrod and Susan Day; 
children, Bessie E. E., John H., .^ddie, Robert, William, Mamie, Ora, and Larken D. 

J. S. McCOOL, farmer of Bkiomery, son of J. D. and Emeline McCool, was born 1852 ; Irish 
and German ancestry; marrie<( 1877, Louisa M., daughter cf Israel and Elizabeth Hardy; 
children, Gertrude B., Edna L, Herbert A., Robert B., Edith, Emma, and Grayson. He owns six 
hundred and ninety-eight acres, eighty-six improved. 




HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



JOHN H. MILLER, farmer of Bloomery, son of Stephen and Anna Miller, was born 1833; 
English and Scotch ancestry; married, 1868, Elizabeth Miller; children, Ira T., Robert E., 
Mary F., Annie E., George W., Dora 8., John M., Daniel A., Minnie B., Ezra. C, Bertha E., Buth 
I., F. C, and Allen P. He served twenty-one months in the Union army, in a Pennsylvania 
regiment. He was severely wounded in the battle of the Wilderness, and was confined to his bed 
two years, and was a cripple seven years. He receives a pension of twenty-four dollars a month. 
He owns two hundred and fifty acres, one hundred and seventy-five improved. 

HIBAM L. MASON, carpenter of Yellow Springs, son of William and Mercy Mason, Irish 
and English extraction, was born 1855; married Jennie, daughter of Wesley and Mary Frank, 
1879 ; children, Edgar W., Nellie A^ Charles W., Arthur L., Ira W., Ashby V., and Nelson W. 

JOHN J. MONROE, farmer of Capon, son of Dr. James and Margaret Monroe, Scotch ances- 
try, was born 1833; married Lydia T., daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Kackley; children, 
James A., Joseph T., aDd John J. Mr. Monroe died 1892. He was elected, 1871, as a member of 
the county court, and was subsequently elected to the legislature, and was sheriff of the county. 
Mrs. Monroe and her son John J. reside on the home place of four hundred and seventy acres. 

L. T. MOBELAND, farmer of Capon, son of George W. and Sarah Moreland, Irish ancestry, 
was born 1830; married Mary E., daughter of George and Bebecca Spaid, 1862 ; children, Lemuel 
H, Ella B., George W., Bebecca S., John A. 0., Mary M., Martha M.,.and Aramintha A. He 
served in the Confederate army ; owns one hundred and fifteen acres, seventy-five improved. 

WASHINGTON MILLER, farmer of Gore district, German descent, son of Jacob and 
Elizabeth Miller, was born in Pennsylvania, 1826; in 1854 married Catherine, daughter of 
John and Eleanor Fisher, of Maryland; children, Nervi, Ellen, Theodore, Amanda, Mary, Ira, 
Agnes, Ama, Augusta, and Alberta. ""~T 

WILLIAM P. MOBELAND, farmer of Gore district, near Spring Gap, son of Evan and 
Ellen Bloreland, was born 1865; married Caroline, daughter of J. A. and Sarah E. Largent, 
1892 ; children, Lavinia, Wilbert, and Arthur. 

JOSEPH MONTGOMEBY, farmer, residing near Spring Gap, son of James and Priscilla 
Montgomery, was born, 1863, in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. He married Lena, daughter of 
Eli and Margaret Sunderland, of Pennsylvania; children, Bertha M., Willie, Mary E., and 
Dora E. 

J. M. MILLER, of Higginsville ; merchant ; son of Oliver J. and Eveline J. Miller ; born 
in Hardy County, 1868; German ancestry; married Ida, daughter of John P. and Amanda Miller, 
1896. Their child's name is Hilda. 

ALBION MORTON, farmer of Gore district, son of Thomas and Elmira Morton, English 
ancestry, wa3 born in Parish St. David's, New Brunswick, 1864; married Lala A., daughter of 
Moses and Helen E. Barrows, of Maine, 1892; children, Levi B., Moses I,, Lecta L., Charles I., 
and George I. 

ALEXANDER W. MONROE, surveyor, la wyer, and farmer, residing near Barnes's Mill, Gore 
district, son of Robert and Elizabeth Monroe, Scotch descent, was born, 1817, in Hampshire County ; 
married, 1852, Sarah A., daughter of John and Eleanor French; child, James W. Mr. Monroe 
was married a second time, in 1866, to Margaret E. Pugh ; children, Robert P., Sallie E., Ella 
G., and Annie H. Alexander Monroe was the oldest colonel, by his commission, in the Virginia 
militia. He commanded the 114th Regiment, which disbanded in 1862. He fought in the war 
till the close, and was in command of the rear guard on the retreat from Gettysburg, and his 
duty was to protect the wagon-train, which was twenty-seven miles long. Further mention of 
Colonel Monroe will be found in this book. 

F. P. MORELAND, farmer residing in Gore district, near Hanging Rocks, son of George 
and Jemima Moreland, was born of English parentage, 1855; married Mary M., daughter of 
John and Caroline Kline. 1875; children. Sadie J., Harriet A., Marion M., Minnie B., John F., 
Hettie L., Yirgiuia E., Elsie C, and George E. 

JAMES W. MONTGOMERY, residing near Spring Gap, Gore district, son of Robert and 
Sydna Montgomery, was born in Pennsylvania, 1821 ; Irish and Scotch descent; married Pris- 
cilla, daughter of John and Ellen Hockenberry, of Pennsylvania, 1863 ; children, John, Isabella 
M., Bobert, James, Samuel T., Mary L., Elvira, Margaret, Elizabeth A., and Achey. 

DAVID E. MOBELAND, farmer residing near Spring Gap, Gore district, son of Evan and 
Eleanor Moreland, was born 1851; married Bachel E., daughter of Kenner and Martha E. 
Seatou, 1878: children, William W., Cora B., Amy E., Charles E„ Benjamin A., Anna M., Victor 
G., and Joseph C. 

WILLIAM McDONALD, farmer residing near Higginsvil % son of Samuel and Catherine 
McDonald, English ancestry, was born 1871; married, 1891, 1 .nnie, daughter of Taylor and 
Cinda Shanholtzer ; children, Ethel L. and Bertha P. 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 



719 



WILLIAM MILLER, of Gore, son of John B. and Sarah Miller, was born 1845; Irish 
descent; married, 1868, Sarah B., daughter of Thomas and Rebecca Wills; children, Cora, 
Anna, Holland, Ettie, Ella, Alma, Willie, and Charles. Mr. Miller has several times been 
deputy sheriff. 

B. F. MARTIN, farmer of Gore district, near North River Mills, son of John and Ellen 
Martin, was born 1843; Irish parentage; married, 1865, Jane, daughter of Stephen and Mary 
Queen ; children, John C, Stephen W., Hettie V., Taylor B., Sallie L., R. S., Cordelia M., and 
Howard W. 

CORNELIUS MILFORD McCARTY, contractor and builder, of Romney, was born at Kerns- 
town, 1846, but subsequently moved with his parents to Winchester. He is a son of Joseph 
S. McCarty, who was born at White Post. 1815, and who married Miss Mary Sticker, of Win- 
chester, 1835. He moved to Winchester before the Civil War, joined the Confederate army, 
was captured, and \*as a prisoner at Fort McHenry. After the war he became mayor of Win- 
chester and justice of the peace. His second wife was Miss Lucinda Bron, of Winchester. He 
died 1895. C. M. McCarty married Miss Mary C. Brown, of Charlottesville, Virginia, 1869. 
They had four children, Nannie Gertrude, Bertha Irene, Olar Belle, and Daisy Virginia. Mrs. 
McCarty was born at Paris, Virginia, 1845. Her father, John W 7 . Brown, was born at Win- 
chester, 1815, and in 1837 married Margaret Manuel, of Prince William County. They both 
died in 1864. Cornelius McCarty was in the Confederate army, was taken prisoner, and was 
confined at Fort Delaware at the time his father was a prisoner there. The family is related 
to many of the oldest families of Virginia. The great-grandfather of the subject of this 
sketch was named Groff, which is now Grove. He owned large bodies of land in Virginia; 
and was also owner of the land on which Shepherdstown stands. His descendants entered 
suit to recover the Shepherdstown land, but were defeated by the plea on the part of the citizens 
that they had been in undisputed possession the number of years required by statute to perfect 
a title. 

THOMAS F. MULLED Y. — In 1795, Thomas F. Mulledy, son of Thomas Mulledy, was born 
in Romney, Irish by birth and in religion a Catholic. His life is a shining example of what 
industry and perseverance can do. With no advantages not enjoyed by the average youth of that 
time in the secluded inland village, he applied himself to books, overcame obstacles, entered 
Georgetown College, and graduated with honors in 1815. He went to Europe and studied several 
years in Rome, becoming one of the ripest scholars in Italian literature which this country has 
produced. He served two years as tutor to the crown prince of Naples ; and twice after his return 
to America was sent by the Catholic Church as ambassador to Rome. In 1829 he was chosen 
president of Georgetown College, and was connected with that institution nearly all the time fill 
bis death, which occurred July 20, 1861. 

SAMUEL MULLEDY, a brother of Thomas F. Mulledy, was also born in Romney, ana frt, < 
became little less distinguished than his brother. He finished his education in Europe, and 
was first president of the Holy Cross College at Worcester, Massachusetts. Few men, if any, 
have gone from Hampshire County who accomplished so much as they as scholars, educators,' 
and ecclesiastics. 

JAMES MONROE, of Scotch ancestry, settled in Hampshire County near the close of the 
eighteenth century. He was grandfather of Colonel Alexander Monroe of this county, and R. W. 
Monroe, of Preston County. He had four brothers, Dr. John Monroe, a Baptist preacher, who 
resided on North River and died on Capon ; George Monroe, who lived in Fairfax County ; Alex- 
ander Monroe, Baptist preacher, who went to Keutncky ; and Robert Monroe, who was born near 
Slanesville, 1796, and died in Harrison County, 1S76. 

W. T. McGRUDER, farmer of Springfield district, born 1S49 ; children, Fad S., Martha E., 
Minnie, and Almeda. 

J. R. MARTIN, a farmer near Higginsville, son of Benjamin and Margaret Martin, was 
born 1846; Irish ancestry : married, 1879, Sarah, daughter of Jacob and Catherine Shanholtzer ; 
children, H. T., J. B., G. S., J. F., and Margaret C. 

A. W. McCAULEY, farmer near Three Churches, son of Jacob and Mary McCanley, was 
born 1844, of Irish ancestry ; married, 1867, Priscilla, daughter of David and Jemima Shelley ; 
children, Bessie L., Charles E., and George W. E. 

NERI MILLER, farmer of Springfield district, son of Washington and Catherine Miller, 
was born in Pennsylvania, 1857 ; German and Irish ancestry; married, 1883, Addie S., daughter 
of Abram and Elizabeth Thomas, of Pennsylvania; children, Anna G., Espy W., Abram W., 
Catherine E., Chester N., and Rose E. 

JOHN G. MONROE, farmer of Springfield district, son of Jesse and Eleanor Monroe, was 
born 1824 ; ancestrv, Scotch and Irish ; married, 1853, Mary, daughter of James and Catherine 
Allen. ; 

S. T. McGLATf HERY, farmer of Green Spring, son of Allen and Martha McGlathery, was 
born in 1835, in Pennsylvania; ancestry, Scotch and Irish; married, 1858, Susan V., daughter of 
Rev. Moses and "jarah Raymond, of Connecticut; children, Martha C, I. R., and Edgar A. 



\ 



720 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



JASPEE N. MABTIN, of Three Churches, farmer, was born 1849; eon of Benjamin and 
Margaret Martin, of Irish parentage ; married, 1878, Sarah, daughter of William and Mary Bang ; 
children, Stella M. and Lather G. ' 

B. N. MOBELAND, former, SpriDgfield district, son of Bassil and Margery Moreland; born 
1842; German descent; married, 1880, Bhoda, daughter of John W. and Mary C. Whitacre, of 
Virginia; children, Delsie L., Isaac William K., Benjamin C, Annie, Lettie O, Hettie V., 
Joseph H. 

EDWARD W. McGILL, farmer of Springfield district ; eon of Patrick and Mary McGill ; of 
English ancestry; born in Maryland, 1817 ; married, 1847, Mary E., daughter of Benjamin and 
Rachel Cbiswell, of Maryland ; children, E. Franklin, Edward W., Wallace H., Arabella W., 
Mary H., Kate T., and Ella C. 

WERNER MARTIN, farmer, son of Christian and Elizabeth Martin, of German ancestry, 
was born 1834; married, 1868, Miss A.E.Elliott, daughter of James and S. J. Elliott. Mrs. 
Elliott was a daughter of Peter Lions. They have had six children, — three living, three dead. 
Mr. Martin came to Hampshire in 1850. and lived at Hartmansville twenty-eight years; then 
moved to Keyser, where he keeps a hoteL 

JAMES A. MONBOE, Sheriff of Hampshire County, was born 1864 ; son of John and Lydia 
T. Monroe ; Scotch and Irish ancestry ; married, 1890, to Virginia, daughter of John W. and 
Mary M. Monroe; children, Mary L. and James W. 

M. A. MILLAR, farmer of Romney district, son of John D. and Sarah Millar, was born 
1872; Scotch ancestry; married, 1893, to Martha E., daughter of John M. and Amanda Peer; 
children, Sarah A., Scotland, and Edith C. 

CHARLES MATTHEWS, farmer of Romney district, son of Harry and Lettie Matthews, 
was born 1841 ; married, 1861, to Clemnia, daughter of John and Gracia Notes ; children, Harry 
and Matthews. 

DANIEL MATTHEWS, of Romney district, teamster, was born 1844 ; son of Harry and Let- 
tie Matthews; married, 1869, to Harriet Jackson ; second wife was Drusilla Johnson; children, 
Mollie, Cora, Roxie, William, Martha E., Sullivan, Garret, Lawson, Floyd, Annie B., and Hoppie. 

FRANKLIN MESSICK, farmer of Romney district, born of German and Lrish parentage, 
3851, ^ a son of Thomas and Rachel Messick ; married, 1872, to Belle, daughter of Philip and 
j Hartman ; children, Charles W., Emma S., R. Lula, Irene, Rittie V., Lillian 0., George 
x ., and Isaac B. 

I. K. MILLS, farmer of Romney district, son of Evert and Elizabeth Mills, was born of 
German anceBtry, 1853; married, 1888, to Sydna, daughter of William J. and Susau Hartman; 
children, Annie B., John W., Ettie E., and Erne. 

JOHN D. MILLAR, Jb., farmer of Romney district, son of John D. and Sarah L. Millar, was 
born 1860; married, 1883, to Nannie, daughter of Robert and Catherine Sheetz; children, 
Catherine, Edwin, Nannie, Frederick, and Thomas. "Lot 4" was granted by Lord Fairfax to 
William Millar, June 15, 1749 : by him conveyed by will to his son, Isaac Millar, 1789 ; by him 
conveyed to his son, Michael Millar ; Michael conveyed it to his son, John Decker Millar. Isaac 
Millar was president of the county court until his death, and twice declined the office of 
sheriff. 

F. T. McBRIDE, of Romney; railroading; son of Joseph and Sarah McBride; born 1854 ; 
married, 1879, to Anna, daughter of Washington and Mary S. Fisher, of Pennsylvania; their 

son's name is Robert. 

J. W. MUNDAY, of Romney; railroader; son of Patrick and Catherine Munday; Irish 
parentage ; born in Maryland, 1828; married, 1849, to Hester A., daughter of Edward and Eliza 
Brady, of Maryland ; children, Charles F., Ella M., Margaret J., and Anna B. 

WILLIAM H. MAL0NEY, by trade a carpenter; at present justice of the peace in Romney; 
son of Daniel and Caroline Maloney ; ancestors, Irish and Scotch ; born 1845 ; married, 1873, to 
Margaret, daughter of James and Catherine Cool ; children, Fannie M., Robert J., W. H., A. M., 
and D. H. Mr. Maloney belonged to Captain McNeill's company, in the Confederate army, and 
mention of him will be found in other places in this book. He was severely wounded in a night 
attack near Moorefield upon a much stronger force of Federals under Colonel Thoburn. September 
13, 1863, where the Unionists had five companies taken prisoners. Mr. Maloney was left in 
Moorefield on account of his wounds, when McNeill withdrew, and he soon fell into the hands of 
the Federals as a prisoner of war. But not being able to take him away without endangering 
his life, the Federals left him there, and he subsequently recovered, and took part afterwards in 
many of the most daring raids known in border history, the most noted of whfph was the capture 
of Geuerals Crook and Kelley in Cumberland, February, 1865, by sixty-four men under Lieuten- 
ant McNeill, and carrying them out of the city, which was occupied at the ti >ie by about eight 
thousand Federals. A full account of this may be found elsewhere in the book.\ 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 



721 



A. J. MILLER, fanner of Gore district, son of Stephen and Celia Miller, German ancestry, 
was born in Morgan County, 1846 ; married Leah, daughter of David and Mary Hott, 1890 ; chil- 
dren, W. L. , James A., and Sylvester. 

B. F. MILLESON, farmer of Gore district, son of William and Sarah Milleson, was born 
1832 ; married Lizzie E., daughter of John and Sarah Engle, 1863 ; children, Sallie B., John W. 
T., George B., Joseph M., Mary M., Charles C, Samuel H. 

ISRAEL MAPHIS, farmer near Delray, son of George and Elizabeth Maphis. German an- 
cestry, was born in Shenandoah County, 1850; married Lettie M, daughter of Timothy and 
Sldna A. Bradford, of Virginia, 1884 ; children, C. C. S. and S. M, 

JOHN A. McBBIDE, farmer and teacher of Gore district, son of Robert an<LMary McBride, 
Irish parentage, was born 1855; married Virginia, daughter of E. and Elizabeth Sandy ; children, 
Robert W., Laura B., Charles A., Wendell L., Bessie J., and Martha E. 

HIRAM MICHAEL, farmer of Gore district, son of Andrew and Elizabeth Michael, German 
extraction, was born in Morgan County, 1815 ; married Nancy, daughter of Jacob and Mary 
UBery, 1856. Their son's name is G. T. Michael. 

J. J. MARTIN, farmer of Sherman district, son of Blackney and Lucinda Martin, was born 
1843; Scotch, Irish, and Welsh ancestry; married Florence V. Grim, of Kernstown, Virginia, 
1867 ; children, Virginia B., Blackney H., Annie L., Lillie M., Thomas F., M. Lunettie, Copsy V. 
B., Laura E., and Edgar F. 

VICTOR L. MTERLT, farmer of Sherman, son of Jesse and Jane Myerly, English and 
German parentage, was born in Maryland, 1860 ; married Rena, daughter of J. B. and Martha 
Everheart, of Clarke County, 1889; children, Eva P. and James B. 

W. B. NESMITH, of Bloomery; miller by trade; son of John and Rebecca Nesmith ; Eng- 
lish parentage; born 1856; married, 1880, Mary, daughter of Amos and Anna Cloud; children, 
George W., Ada L., Icie A., and LeDa M. 

JACOB L. NOLAND, stock dealer, resident of Davis, West Virginia, was born in Hampshire, 
1850; son of E. G. and Jennie Noland; German and Irish ancestry; married Fannie R., daughter 
of Bailey and Elizabeth Catlett, 1872 ; children, Naomi L., Viola P., and Paul I. 

JAMES P. NEALIS, teacher of Gore district, residing near Barnes's mill, son of Timothy and 
Sarah Nealis, Irish descent, born, 1839, in Philadelphia ; married Mary D., daughter of Peter and 
Sedena Miller, 1861 ; children, John A., James G., Joseph E., Fannie L , Sallie, Christian, Robert 
M, Lula, Frances I., and Annie. , 

BOBEBT B. NELSON, farmer of Gore district, near Augusta, son of Jackson and Caroline 
Nelson ; German descent ; born 1861 ; married Victoria E., daughter of B. M. and Nancy E. Haines, 
1885 ; children, Fannie M., Elmer P., Cora N., Irwin R., and Edith B. 

JAMES A. NEWHOTJSE, blacksmith, resident of Romney, of German ancestry, was born in 
Ohio. His children are George W. and Joseph H. Newhouse. 

ROBERT D. NOLAND, farmer of Gore, son of Pierce and Mary Noland, Irish and Scotch 
ancestry, waB born 1831 ; married Elizabeth J., daughter of Abraham and Sarah Moore, of Ken- 
tucky and West Virgina, 1868; children, E. W. and Minnie. 

D. W. OGLESBEE, merchant of Bloomery, son of Hillery and Sarah Oglesbee, was born of 
English and Irish ancestry, 1846; married, 1873, Portia J., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fenton D. 
Baker; children, Althea S., Floyd B., Mary, Grace L., Herbert W., and Lillian. Mr. Oglesbee 
resides at Capon Bridge. 

WILLIAM L. OATES, farmer of Capon, son of Jacob and Eliza Oates, English parentage, 
waB born 1845 ; married Mary, daughter of Henry and Catherine Loar ; children, James, George, 
Ella, Jefferson, Edward, Albert, Emma, Ollie, Altha, Maggie, and Gertrude. He was in the 
Confederate army. 

T. K. OATES, physician of Capon Bridge, son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Oates, was born 
1869. He graduated at the Shenandoah Normal School, and afterwards at the Maryland Uni- 
versity, and at once entered upon an active practice. 

JOHN OATES, farmer of Capon, son of Samuel and Mary J. Oates, was born of English 
ancestry, 1850; married Almira R., daughter of William and Elizabeth Fletcher; children, 
Albert G., Ella G., and Frederick. He owns one hundred and sixty-four acres, fifty improved. 
He is president of the board of education. 

JAMES F. OATS, farmer of Sherman district, son of Jacob and Mary E. Oats, German and 
English ancestry, was born 1854: married Hannah E„ daughter of Isaac and R. A. Saville, 1876 ; 
children, Fannie R., Bettie A., Hattie E., Franklin E., Albert W., and G. L. P. 



7fz 2 HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

j V v ■ . - i . ■ . ' : '' .. ' . 

| L. D. PURGIT, a former of Mill Greek, son of William S. and Amelia Purgit, was born 1861 ; 
a^rried, 1888, to Susan J., daughter of John and Snsan Sogers, of Mineral County; children, 
Lucy K., Ella K. Mr. Purgit was married twice, his first children being Grace, Olive, and 
Orin C. 

JOHN W. PARKER, farmer near Mechanicsburg, son of Abraham and Mary C. Parker, was 
born 1846; German and English parentage; married, 1872, to Verlenda M., daughter of John 
and Sarah Lingo, of Cumberland, Maryland : children, Mary L., Ella, Flora W., Walter W., 
Lillian, Edward A., Elizabeth, Edith, Fannie, Harry A., and Charles C. 

ALBERT R. PUGH, of Mill Creek, farmer and teacher, was born near Keyser, 1875, Bon of 
John W. and Caroline Pugh ; ancestry, English. 

WILLIAM S. PURGIT, who for forty years was postmaster, and justice of the peace for an 
equal time, was born near Purgiteville, 1832; son of Mr. and Mrs. William Purgit, of German 
and Irish ancestry ; married, 1852, to Amanda H., daughter of Jacob and Margaret Station ; 
children, Isaac, William, Martha K., Nashville S., Edgar, and Minnie. 

SAMUEL B. PARKER, farmer of Mill Creek, son of John A. and Elizabeth Parker, was 
born 1842 ; German ancestry ; married, 1877, to Mary C, daughter of Nicholas and Martha J. . 
Biser, of Beaver Run ; children, Albert L., LucylB., Clara C, William, Isaac C, Florence D., 
Andrew J , Samuel H., and George S. A. 

JAMES PARKER, farmer near Mechanicsville, son of John and Ellen Parker, was born 
near where he now resides, in 1815; ancestry, English and German ; married, 1865, to Eliza J., 
daughter of Ephraim and Eliza Herriott ; children, Alford B., James M., Ephraim H., John P., 
J., and George 0. F. 

C. F. POLAND, son of W. J. and Acbsah Poland, German descent, was born 1855; married, 
1887, Mary J., daughter of Bernard and Caroline Fetzer, of Martinsburg, West Virginia. Mr. 
Poland graduated, 1877, at Shepherd College Normal School; taught six terms in Hampshire; 
established the Hampshire Review, owned and edited it till it was s>'ld to Cornwell Brothers, 1890 ; 
took theological course at Randolph-Macon College ; was pereuaded by Rev. George E. Tyler to 
purchase the Episcopal Methodist Soutli, the organ of the Baltimore Conference, M. E. Church 
South, 1892. The next year it was sold to Rev. J. J. Lafferty, by which Mr. Poland lost all he 
had, and more. He edited the Soulh Branch Intelligencer from 1893 to 1897, when it was consoli- 
dated with the Review. Mr. Poland then moved to Baltimore to take a position with a publishing 
company. 

GARRETT W. PARSONS, farmer one mile below Romney, son of Isaac and Snsan Parsons, 
was born 1852; Irish ancestry; married, 1878, Mary A., daughter of John and Anna Covell, of 
""irginia and Rhode Island ; children, John C, Garrett W., Annita E., Charles H., Mamie A., 
and William P. Mr. Parsons owns the old Parsons's homestead, one of the oldest and most val- 
uable in Hampshire. It has been in the family about one hundred and fifty years. The house was 
built in 1774, and is still occupied and in good condition. 

M. F. POLING, now of Hardy County, was born in Hampshire, 1841, of German descent. 
He is related on his mother's side to the Mills family, she being a daughter of Rev William 
Mills, an Englishman. Mr. Poling was manager of the Hampshire almshouse fourteen years, 
and was justice of the peace eight years. He was in the Confederate army, Company K., 
Thirteenth Virginia Infantry, and took part in nearly all the battles in which Stonewall Jack- 
son was engaged, he being in Jackson's corps. He was captured at Fredericksburg, 1863; 
was taken to Fort Delaware; exchanged; captured again ; again in Fort Delaware, where he 
remained till just before Lee's surrender. Mr. Poling was married to Miss E. H. Stickley, 
1878. Their son's name is M. F. Poling. 

JOHN H. PILES was born in Hampshire County, August 27, 1832; and was married to 
Jane, daughter of William and Rebecca Roberson, January 17, 1856. He removed with his 
family from Hampshire to St. Clair County, Missouri, in September, 1870, and is a farmer by 
occupation. His childreu are, William T., Rebecca S., Mary E., Richard J., Martha E., Robert 
L., Dora A , Ida M., John Russell, and Estella H. The subject of this sketch was captain of 
the Grassy Lick militia, and afterwards of a company in Imboden's brigade, as is more fully 
detailed in another chapter of this book. Captain Piles was severely wounded at the battle of 
Malvern Hill, July 1, 1862. which caused him to be sent to the hospital at Richmond. 

OFFUTT PEACEMAKER, merchant of Bloomery district, son of Adam and Elizabeth C. 
Peacemaker, was born in Virginia, 1867 ; German ancestry ; married, 1892, Minnie, daughter 
of J. \V. and Jane Bageant, of Virginia. Their child's name is Raymond C. He owns thirty 
acres, twenty-eight miles from Romney. 

LEMUEL PUGH, farmer of Bloomery, residing thirty miles from Romney; son of David 
and Esther Pugh ; Scotch and English ancestry ; born 1841 ; married, 1864, Mary E., daughter 
of James 0. and Melinda L. Nixon ; children, James C, Florence B., Minnie V., Martha A., 
David W., Sarah E., Mary E.,and Gertrude E. He owns fifty acres of land, twenty improved. 

ROBERT D. POWELL, of Bloomery, miller, son of Robert M. and Mary Powell, was 
born 1835; Scotch and Irish descent; married, 1870, Lizzie, daughter of George W. and Sallie 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 



7 2 3 



Gore; children, Bertha M. t Mary L., A. Laura, Nettie G., William R., Bessie H., Robert T., 
Charle6 T., Andra L., and Fannie C. Mr. Powell resides %t Forks of Capon, where he owns 
two hundred and seventy-three acres, one hundred improved. He has held the office of justice 
of the peace, county commissioner, and sheriff. 

IVEN L. PUGH, of Bloomery, farmer, son of Mr. and Mrs. M. Pugh, was born of Scotch 
and English ancestry, 1874; married, 1891, Louisa L., daughter of Elijah and Eliza Fletcher, 
of Virginia. He owns one hundred and ninety-two acres, seventy-five improved, thirty miles from 
Bomney. 

WILLIAM H. POWELL, farmer of Bloomery, son of R. M and Mary Powell, was born 
1835; Scotch and Irish ancestry; married, 1870, Mary E., daughter of Lemuel and Margaret 
Pugh. He owns one handred and sixty acres, fifty improved. He was in the Confederate army, 
captain of Company A., Thirty-third Virginia Infantry, and was wounded at Gettysburg. He took 
part in the battles of Winchester, around Richmond, Fredericksburg, Wilderness, and others. 
He has been twice sheriff of Hampshire County. 

CAPTAIN DAVID PUGH, tanner and farmer, Capon district, son of Marshall and Margaret 
Pugh, was born at Capon Bridge, 1807; married Mary W. Keniford, 1830. He was married a 
second time, 1835, to Jane, daughter of Abraham Creswell ; children, Preston, John, Mary C, 
Maria L., Almira V., Martha J. He was married to Elizabeth A., daughter of Hugh and Annie 
Garbin, 1851 ; children, Florence M., David C Annie L. Mr. Pugh was a member of the con- 
vention which signed the ordinance of secession, 1861. He was many years member of the 
county court. In 1876 he was elected to the State senate. He had been in the Virginia legis- 
lature in 1841. He was personally acquainted with Andrew Jackson, and was a visitor at the 
White House while Jackson was president. 

JOHN V. POWELL, farmer of Capon, son of Robert D. and Catherine M. Powell, German 
ancestry, was born 1857 ; married Mary J., daughter of Christopher and Sarah J. Slonaker, 
1878; children, Bertha O. L. and Myrtle V. He owns two hundred and eighty-three acres, one 
hundred and fifty under cultivation. 

MARION PUGH, farmer of Capon, son of Robert J. and Jane Pugh, Welsh and Irish de- 
scent, was born 1844. He was in the Confederate army. The home place, on which he and 
his 6ister Emeline reside, has been in the family many years, the deed dating back to Lord 
Fairfax, 1760. 

S. J. PENNINGTON, farmer of Capon, son of Enoch and Phoebe Pennington, English 
ancestry, was born 1836 ; married Margaret Michael, 1868 ; children, Louisa J., John 0., Nina 
B. He was in the Confederate army. He died 1891. 

ALBERT D. PUGH, teamster of Bloomery, son of George and Vertie Pugh, English parent- 
age, was born 1871 ; married Maggie, daughter of Joseph and Mary Eaton ; children, Joseph F., 
George L., and Lucille M. 

C. M. PULTZ, teacher and farmer, residing in Gore district, near Barnes's mill, son of 
Jacob and Rebecca Pultz, was born 1856 ; German descent ; married Dora E., daughter of John 
A. and Eliza Pownell, 1893 ; children, Ada M. and Marshall. 

JAMES H. POWELL, farmer of Gore, son of Henry and Precious Powell, was born of 
English parentage, 1813; in 1836 he married Delilah, daughter of Alexander and Annie Patter- 
son; children, Margaret A., Henry A., BeDjamin J., Johu B., Edward B., Jane A., Albert 
P., and Alverda. Mr. Powell was married a second time, 1866, to Sarah A. Saville; child, 
Bessie. 

JAMES W. POWNELL, farmer of Gore, son of Isaac J. and Rebecca Pownell, was born 
1858 ; in 1880 he married Amanda B., daughter of J. A. and Eliza A. Pownell ; children, Blanche, 
Nettie M., Bessie P., George W., Holland L., and James W. 

THE PARKER FAMILY.— The history of Hampshire County is interwoven with that of 
the Parker family and the many connections and interrelations. The founder of the family in 
America was Robert Parker, who came from England. He had four sons and two dair^'ters. 
His sons were Peter, Robert, Solomon, and Nat ; his daughters, Katie and Susan. In the Re volu- 
tionary War Nat was a Tory, and disappeared. It was never ascertained what became of him, as 
he was never again heard of. But the other children married, and their descendants are now 
found not only in Hampshire County, but in the distant States. The family of each of these 
children will be traced separately. 

Peter Parker married Miss Dimmitt, and they had several daughters and one son, Solomon. 
The daughters married and went west, where their descendants are respectable and numerous. 
Solomon Parker married Miss Taylor, aud they had six children, four sons and two daughters. 
The sons were Peter, Taylor, Isaac* and Joseph ; the daughters, Elizabeth aud Mary Ellen. Peter 
married Miss Boyce, of Texas; Taylor married Miss Swisher; Isaac was twice married, first to 
Miss Thompson, and then to Lydia Cain. Their daughter is Mrs. Jane Thompson, of Three 
Churches. Joseph married Ellen Grace; Elizabeth married Enoch Binehart; Mary Ellen mar- 
ried Mr. Gutherie. 

Robert Parker married Sarah Campbell. They had three sons, Clausen, John, aud Bichard, 
and two daughters, Hannah and Katie. Clausen married Rebecca Taylor and settled on the 



724 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Ohio Elver; John went to Ohio; Bichard went to Kentucky; Katie married Mr. McCracken and 
went west ; Hannah married John Brady, and they had one son, James, and ax daughters, Sallie, 
Katherine, Mary, Harriet, Hannah, and Rebecca. James never married; Sallie married Mr. 
Middleton and afterwards Mr. Neville ; Katherine married Mr. Wheeler : Mary married Bev. C. 
Parkieon ; Harriet married Joseph Taylor ; Hannah married Alonzo Fowler ; Bebecca married 
Dr. John Daily. 

Solomon Parker married Miss Wright, and had four sons, Isaac, Robert, John, and William, 
and four daughters, Harriet, Lncinda, Mary, and Sarah Katherine. Isaac married Miss King 
and went west; John died young; William married three times, first Miss Higgins, then two 
Miss Shepherds. He went to Missouri. Bobert married Katherine Mytinger ; Harriet married 
Mr. Stump; Lucinda died unmarried; Mary married Mr. Higgins; Sarah Katherine married 
Mr. Hoffman. Bobert had four sons, John Hite, Daniel, William, and Edgar, and three daughters, 
Lizzie, Boberta, and Jennie. John Hite married Miss Grace and went to Missouri ; Daniel mar- 
ried Lizzie Bees and lives at Frankfort, Mineral County ; Lizzie married Bev. L. Butt ; Boberta 
married Dr. Hodgson, of Cumberland, Maryland ; William never married ; Jennie never married ; 
Edgar married Effie Singhass. 

Katie Parker married Mr. Johnson, and their descendants are numerous on Patterson Creek. 
Their children were Okey, Joshua, William, Susan, Charity, and Polly. Okey married Miss Tur- 
ley ; Joshua married Miss Sheetz ; William married Miss Taylor ; Susan married Mr. Hollenbeck ; 
Charity also married a Hollenbeck; Polly married Mr. Carscaddon. 

Susan Parker married Captain William Forman, an account of whose death while fighting 
Indians near Wheeling, in September. 17T7, is given elsewhere in this book. They bad eleven 
children. Isaac was bitten by a mad dog and died ; Grace married Mr. Casey. Through her the 
Parkers and Parsons are related. Elizabeth married Mr. Taylor, and they had nine children, 
three sons, Simon, William, and Joseph ; six daughters, Mary,'Katie, Susan, Bebecca, Betty, and 
Sarah. Simon married Miss Fleming and went to Kentucky; William married Miss Glaze; 
Joseph married Miss Corcoran and went to the Ohio Biver ; Mary married Mr. Parker ; Katie 
married Mr. Lawson ; Susan married William French ; Bebecca married Mr. Parker; Betty mar- 
ried Mr. Johnson ; Sarah married Mr. Mytinger. 

E. S. PABKEB, merchant, resident of Springfield, son of Bobert W. and Catherine E.Parker, 
of German and English ancestry, was born 1667; married, 1894, to Effie B., daughter of C. W. 
and Virginia B. Singhass ; child, Virginia C. 

JOHN C. PABRAN, of Green Spring, by occupation a farmer, was born of Scotch and Ger- 
man ancestry, near Moorefield, 1837. His parents, N. D. and Adeline Parran. He married, 
1872, Addie L., daughter of Isaac and Susan Baker. Their daughter, Kate Beulah. 

ISAAC PARSONS, farmer, son of Isaac and Susan Parsons, of English ancestry, was born 
1839; married to Emma, daughter of Julius and Mary Waddle; children, Mary K., J. Clifford, 
Isaac B., Maude W.. Susan B., and Alice H. He was a resident of Springfield district. 

J. W. PULTZ, son of Jacob and Rebecca Pultz, was born, 1849, near Slaneeville; by occupa- 
tion a clerk; German ancestry; married, 1871, Mary Florence, daughter of John B. and* Rebecca 
A. Fenten ; children, Will Ed, H. Leslie, Frank B. t W. Fenten, and Beri K. EL Leslie Pultz was 
drowned 1889. Mr. Pultz removed to Wneeling, 1883. 

R. W. PARKER, farmer, resident of Springfield district, son of Solomon and Sarah Parker, 
of English ancestry, was born 1815; married, 1842, to Catherine, daughter of Daniel and Sarah 
Mytinger; children, John H., Daniel M n Virginia W., Boberta S., Edgar S., Sarah E., and Wil- 
liam C. 

W. H. PATTERSON, paper finisher, Springfield district, son of Robert Patterson, of Irish 
ancestry, was married, 1887, to Florence, daughter of Jonathan and Caroline Bryan ; children, 
Edgar, Benjamin, Jeremiah. Flora, and Grover. 

J. S. POLAND, farmer, resident of Springfield district, son of James and Rachel Roland, of 
English aucestry, was born 1842; married, 1866, to Mary S., daughter of Isaac and Nancy J. 
Haines; children, Elizabeth J., Charles D., James W., Lula E., and George I. 

AMOS LUTHER PUGH. The subject of this sketch is a son of the late Lemuel Pugh. 
His fp *'ier died in 1877. His mother. Elizabeth A., whose maiden name was Twiford, is still 
li^iiig. He is the oldest of a family of eleven children, eight of whom are still living. Two 
half sisters, older than himself, are Mary Ellen, the wife of Captain William H. Powell, one of the 
foremost and most influential citizens of the county, who has figured prominently in its public 
and political affairs for a number of years, and Virginia A., the wife of Taylor TJrton, a pros- 
perous fanner and stock raiser and dealer in Cass County, Missouri. The names of his full 
brothers and sisters, stated in the order of their respective ages, are : Arthur Benton, Margaret 
Catherine, Dora Charity, Lemuel Willie, Roberta Agnes, Sarah Elizabeth, and Martha Bell. 

Amos L. Pugh was born January 23, 1853. His father on the paternal side was of Welsh 
descent and his mother on the same side was of Scotch descent. He was married April 12. 1S77, 
to Miss Alma Garvin, daughter of the late David J. and Margaret Garvin, of High View, Hamp- 
shire County. To them was born one son, Robert Beall Pugh, September 7, 1879. Mr. Pugh's 
only educational advantages were such as were afforded by the public schools of the county prior 
to 1873, and a three months' term, in 1874, in Eastman's Business College at Poughkeepsie, New 
York, in which time he graduated in the business course. In 1873 — then twenty years of age — 
he was appointed a deputy for William H. Powell, sheriff of the county, which office he con- 



\ 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 



tinned to hold under the succeeding sheriffs until October, 1888, when he resigned, 
agreed to become a candidate for re-election to the State legislature, and some doubts h&\ 
arisen as to his eligibility to that office, while holding the office of deputy sheriff. He vtk 
elected in 1886 to represent the county in the House of Delegates in the State legislature, and 
was re-elected in 1888, serving two sessions during each term. He was appointed a member of 
the board of regents of the West Tirginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind, by Governor E. W. 
"Wilson, June 4, 1887, and was reappointed to the same position by Governor A. B. Flemming, 
April 17, 1890, serving as a member of the Board for six years. He was a member of the Ex- 
ecutive Committee of the Board, and a member of the Building Committee, appointed to take 
charge of the erection of the new buildings which were built in 1892. At the general election 
held November, 1893, he was elected Sheriff of Hampshire County, and served in that office 
for the term beginning the 1st of January following. 

ARTHUR BENTON PUGH, brother of Amos Pugh, is a lawyer. He studied lav at the 
University of Virginia, and first located for the practice of his profession, at Petersburg, Grant 
County, iu 1877, when he formed a partnership with Wilbur F. Dyre. The firm for a number of 
years had a large practice in the counties of Grant, Hardy, and Pendleton. He was married in 
1885 to Miss Louisa Anderson, the only daughter of David C. Anderson, of Franklin, Pendleton 
County. In 1888 he was appointed to and accepted the position of assistant attorney in the 
Department of the Interior at Washington, D. C. This position he filled for nearly three years, 
when he resigned to enter again upon the practice of his profession at Salem and Roanoke, Virginia. 
He soon obtained a large and lucrative practice in this new field ; taking his place at once in the 
front ranks of the bar, and in a few years was regarded as one of the leading lawyers in that 
section of the State. 

The mountainous climate did not agree with his wife, however, and, owing to her failing 
health, he determined to leave Salem. He had been offered his old position at Washington several 
times, and had each time declined it. In 1896 the offer came again, withoutsolicitation, and in view 
of the necessity of a speedy change of climate on account of his wife, he, after some hesitation, 
accepted it. The year 1896 brought him severe afflictions. His little boy, Benton Anderson, a 
bright and handsome boy of eight and a half years, died in Salem, in February, and he had the 
still greater misfortune to lose his wife by death the November following. Two little girls, 
Mary Anderson, aged seven years, and Louise Benton, born in August 1896, are his only living 
children. 

LEMUEL WILLIE PUGH, son of Lemuel and Elizabeth A. Pugh, after receiving such 
education as could be acquired in the public schools of the day, attended and become a graduate 
of Eastman's Business College, New York, in 1888. He served four years as deputy sheriff of the 
county under Wiliam H. Powell, during his second term in that office, from 1885 to 1888 in- 
clusive. In 1891 he went west as far as Missouri, and in a short time found employment with the 
George D. Hope Lumber Company, of Kansas City. He rapidly rose from the position of clerk in 
one of the many branch establishments of the company located in different sections of Miss. ^zC. 
and Kansas to principal accountant and bookkeeper at the main office in Kansas City, and then to 
general manager of the company's affairs, which position he has held for several years. 

Of the five younger sisters, whose names are given above, two are married. Margaret C. is 
the wife of George Taylor, one of the most successful and prosperous farmers and stock raisers of 
the county: and Dora C. is the wife of C. F Rinker, M.D., of Upperville, Fauquier County, Vir- 
ginia, who is practising successfully his profession in that county. The three unmarried sisters 
are among the most successful teachers in the schools of the county, and have taught also success- 
fully in the public and graded schools of Missouri. 

THOMAS G. POWNALL, son of A. H. and Charlotte (nie Hannas) Pownall, was born in 
Sherman district, 1858, of Scotch, Irish, and German descent. His ancestors lived New Jersey. 
From the age of six to sixteen he attended public and private schools about four m^r^hs each 
year. At seventeen, at Rio. he taught his first school. He taught ten terms in county sch<-^3. 
and in 1886 was principal of Romney graded school, and was elected in 1888 to a similar position 
at Paw Paw. He was a member of the county board of examiners for teachers in 1884 and 1885. 
In 1889 he was appointed by A. B. White, deputy collector of internal revenue in Hampshire, 
Hardy, Mineral, Grant, Morgan, Berkeley, Jefferson, and Pendleton Counties, and served till 
1893. In February, 1894. he was appointed assistant general superintendent for the United States 
Leather Company, and in October of the same year was promoted to general superintendent. On 
August 22, 1894, he was married to Miss Virginia G. Frye, of Keyser, Mr. Pownall resides at 
Cumberland, Maryland, in order the better to look after the extensive business of the leather 
company; but he holds his citizenship at Romney, West Virginia. He has one child, two years 
old. While teaching school, and while in the revenue service, Mr. Pownall dealt in live stock, 
timber, tan, bark, and real estate. He attended the Fairmont Normal School in 1880; and in 
1887 graduated in the scientific course of the North-Western University at Ada, Ohio. 

In politics Mr. Pownall is a Republican, and became interested in the welfare of his party as 
early as 1875. From 1886 to 1894 he was chairman of the Hampshire County Republican Execu- 
tive Committee, and for the same period was a member of the Second Congressional District 
Committee. He resigned both in 1894 because of press of business. In 188S he was nominated 
by his party for the State Senate in the twelfth district, and made a thorough and aggressive 
speaking canvass against Hon. S. L. Flournoy, Democrat, of Romney, who was elected by a re- 
duced majority. Mr. Pownall is not orthodox in religion; does not belong to any church, and 
does not believe in the doctrine of eternal punishment. 

JOHN S. PANCAKE, farmer, resident of Romney district, son of Joseph C. and Ellen D. 
Pancake, of Irish and German ancestry, was born 1846 ; married, 1S8±, to Margaret, daughter of 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



♦V. and Sarah E. Gilkeson ; children, Emily V., William C, and Elizabeth G. Mr. Pan- 
e has an interest in an extensive peach farm near Romney, and also devotee his time to the 
aising of and dealing in stock. He was in the Confederate army. 

J. W. POLING, deputy sheriff, resident of Romney, son of Joseph and Elizabeth A. Poling, 
of German, Welsh, and Irish ancestry, was born 1836 ; married, 1858, to Mary J., daughter of 
George N. and Elizabeth Hauser; children, Lawrence, Henry E., Annie B., Harry H., Dora S., 
M. Bessie, and George W. 

V. M. POLING, Clerk of Circuit Court, resident of Eomney. son of Joseph and Elizabeth 
Poling, of German, Welsh, and Irish ancestry, was born 1844; married, 1865, to Sallie, daughter 
of I. N. and Elizabeth Heiskell, of Virginia ; children, Addie E., Claud V., Edgar N,, Virgil, 
Eva Ts W. H. Beulah, Bobert L., and Martha. Further mention of Mr. Poling will be made 
elsewhere in this book. 

JOSEPH S. PANCAKE, farmer, resident of Romney district, son of Joseph C. and Ellen 
Pancake, was born 1856 ; married, 1897, to Sallie, daughter of John J. and Bettie Inskeep. 

JOSEPH C. PANCAKE, farmer, resident of Romney district, son of Isaac and Sallie Pan- 
cake, of Irish, Welsb, and Germau ancestry, was born 1814 ; married, 1843, to Ellen D., daughter 
of Silas and Maria Reese ; children, Sarah M., Isaac H. ft, John S., Mary B., William C, Andrew 
P., Joseph S., and Sydna M. 

A. V. PARKER, farmer, resident of Romney district, son of James and Eliza J. Parker, of 
English and Irish ancestry, was born 1869 ; married, 1895, to Susan, daughter of David and Nan- 
nie Fox ; child, Nancy J. 

FREDERICK PANCAKE, farmer, resident of Romney district, son of A. J. and Ann Jemima 
Pancake, of German ancestry, was born 1860; married, 1886, to Sarah W., daughter of J. D. and 
Sarah L. Miller. His child is John A. Pancake. 

I. H. C. PANCAKE, nieixhant, resident of Romney, son of Joseph C. and Ellen D. Pancake, 
of German, Scotch, and Irish ancestry, was born 1845; married, 1874, to Fannie, daughter of 
Lemuel and Isabella Campbell, of Virginia; children, Ellen ft, E. Blair, L. Campbell, Joseph ft, 
and Fannie G. 

JEREMIAH POLAND, farmer, resident of Romney district, of English ancestry, was born 
in Hardy County, 1855; married, 1878, to Harriet E., daughter of Daniel and Martha Lewis; 
children, Margaret E., Anna L., Lorenzo G., Ora B., Hannah S., Granvil R., Jeremiah ft, and 

,Jda P. 

JOHN W. POWELSON, farmer of Sherman district, son of Paul and Caroline Poweleon, 
German and Irish ancestry, was born 1844; married Nancy J., daughter of John R. and Cath- 
erine Powelson ; children, Alvin J., Elizabeth G., and Lester A. 

JOSEPH F. PEPPER, fanner near Pleasant Dale, son of Jacob and Frances Pepper, German 
ancestry, was born 1848 ; married Lucy M., daughter of A. T. and Margaret J. Pugh ; children, 
Margaret F., Ida M., and Charles A. 

JAMES H. PEER, farmer of Gore, son of Elias and Rachel Peer, German descent, was born 
in Shenandoah County, 1850; married Rebecca, daughter of Abraham and Sarah Lambert, 1874; 
children, William, Salemma, Daisey, Samuel, Cleveland, Elias H., Minnie R., George, Benjamin, 
and Cray son J. 

JACOB D. PARRIIL, farmer of Sherman district, son of Joseph and Isabella Parrill, Ger- 
man ancestry, was born iD Hardy County, 1825; married Lydia, daughter of George and Daritha 
Dellinger, of Virginia, 1848; children, Mary A., Margaret F., Amanda V., George W., Edward 
A. Mr. Parrill married Clarinda, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Reynolds, 1863; children, 
Laura I., Joseph H., Charles A. 

JOSEPH B. PILES, farmer of Sherman district, son of John H. and Martha E. Piles, was 
born 1860; married Matilda E., daughter of Daniel and Mary Simmons, 1883; children, Lumama 
E., William A., Anna V. B., Martha F. J., Floyd H., and FrJna. 

D. G. POLAND, farmer and mechanic of Sherman district, son of J. C. and Martha E. 
Poland, Irish ancestry, was born 1860; married Mary P. F., daughter of Armstead and Mary 
Alverson; children, Dale V. D., Bonn A., and Roy A. He has held the office of justice of the 
peace both by appointment and election. 

A. B. POWNALL, farmer and teacher of Sherman, son of A. H. and Charlotte Pownall, Irish 
and Scotch ancestry, was born in Hampshire County, 1873. 

WILLIAM PEER, of English ancestry, son of James H. and Rebecca Peer, is a farmer of 
Gore; born 1876; married Lizzie, daughter of Robert and Nancy Riser, 1893; children, Minor 
L. and Nina R. 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 727 



JOSEPH A, PUGH, fanner near Pleasant Dale, son of John N. and Sarah Pugh, English 
ancestry, -was born 1842 ; married Martha V., daughter of Jaoob J. and Frances E. Pepper, 1872 ; 
children, Virginia M., Lanra F., John A., Finley T., Ada M. t and Thomas W. Mr. Pngh was in 
the Confederate army and was wounded at Cold Harbor. 

0. J. RACY, a teacher residing three miles south of Purgitsville, was born in Hardy County, 
1871; son of Morgan and Rebecca Racy; married, 1895, to Cora H., daughter of Warner and 
Hannah High. Their child's name is Yiolet I. 

JAMES R. RILEY, farmer of Rloomery, son of Thomas and Margaret Riley, was born 1845; 
Irish anceBtry; married, 1877, Mary E., daughter of Iven and Sarah Kidwell. Their child's 
name is Alonzo D. He served one month in the Confederate army. 

RORERT F. RILEY, residing three miles east of Capon Bridge, son of William T. and 
Susan A. Riley, was born 1859; Irish descent ; married, 1889, Dorothy M., daughter of Louis D. 
and Elizabeth Schmilbe ; children, Tracy L M Wilson C, and Mary P. He owns one hundred and 
five acres, one hundred improved. He attended the Ohio Normal University two terms, taught 
twenty years, sixteen of them on a number one certificate. He was two years a member of the 
board of examiners, and one year a member of the school-book board. 

F. B. RILEY, farmer and mail contractor of Bloomery, son of Thomas and Margaret 
Riley, was born of Irish descent, 1852 ; married, 1891, Martha A., daughter of Robert and 
Mary A. Hook. Their child's name is Thurman R. Mr. Riley owns one hundred and thirty- 
eight acres, forty improved. 

JACOB C. RUDOLPH, farmer, residing on Mutton Run, Capon district, son of George and 
Catherine A. Rudolph, German and Scotch extraction, was born 1837 ; married Cora, daughter of 
Adam and Catherine Bowers, of Berkeley County, 1864 ; children, Annie, Walter, Cora, Harry, 
Ada, Eliza, and Mary. He was four years in the Confederate army. 

JOHN N.RANNELLS, farmer, residing near Higginsville, son of John and Kissiah Rannells, 
German descent, was born 1836 ; married Hannah E., daughter of Silas and Harriet Mileson, 
1858; children, Augusta Y., Charles L., Samuel F., W. Edward, Annie V., Annie B., and Katie. 

S. A. ROWZEE, fanner, residing near Higginsville, son of Reuben and Sarah A. Rowzee, 
was born in Frederick County, 1835 ; French and Irish ancestry ; married Ann J., daughter 
of Peter and Jane Reilly, of Ireland, 1860; children, Mary E., John W., Samuel A, Sarah J., 
Catherine A., Cyrus H., Isaac N., and DaTid W. 

A. S. RHODES, farmer of Green Spring, son of Andrew M. and Christina Rhodes, was 
born in Ohio, 1849, of German descent; married, 1889, Mary A., daughter of Leonard W. and 
Elizabeth Huff, of Maryland ; children, Annie L., John S., Edward F., and Lucy M. 

M. H. RUSSELL, of Okonoko ; farmer ; son of Mahlon and Mary A. Rnssell ; born, 1830, 
in Loudoun County; English and Irish ancestry; married, 1873, Arabella W., daughter of 
Edward W. and Mary E. McGill, of Maryland ; children, M. Edith, Henry M., Edna H, Virginia 
M., Edward M., Julia B., and Ann Louisa. 

L. A. RIZER, a miller, residing in Kej-ser, son of Matthias and Nancy Rizer, was born 
at Springfield, 1845 ; French and German ancestry ; married to Kate Hyde, daughter of John 
J. Hyde ; five children. 

BENJAMIN REYNOLDS, farmer of Romney district, son of James and Elizabeth A. Rey- 
nolds, was born on Lost River, 1866; married, 1891, to Mary S., daughter of Cornelius and Cath- 
erine Blackburn; children, Clarence P. and Leafy M. 

CHARLES N. ROBERSON, farmer and trader, Sherman district, son of Captain Amos and 
Catherine Roberson, German descent, was born 1873. He has filled the office of constable. 

A. M. RUCKMAN, farmer of Sherman district, son of J. T. and Caroline Rnckman, Eng- 
lish ancestry, was born 1860; married Alverda, daughter of R. M- and Phoebe Wolford, 1885; 
children, Ira C, Herman G., and Floyd M. 

DAVID WARNER SWISHER was born in Augusta County, Virginia, April 29, 1822. He is 
of Swiss-German descent. About the year 1750, four brothers named Schweiber set out from 
Switzerland for America to try their fortunes in that far-away land. They are known to have 
reached America, but from that period the history of three of the brothers is lost. It is thought 
that one settled near Winchester, while two of the others went northward into Pennsylvania, and 
their descendants afterwards migrated into what are now the counties of Marion, Monongalia, 
and Harrison. It will be noticed that the name was spelled and pronounced essentially differently 
at that time from what it is now. John Schweiber, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, 
was born in 1730. He came to America in company with his brothers as before mentioned. He 
became an Indian trader and merchant. He made extensive trips into the interior of the State, 
returning to Philadelphia heavily freighted with valuable furs. These trips were made about 
once in six weeks, and the value of the merchandise brought back varied from two hundred to 
seven hundred dollars, as is shown by receipts given at that time. The oldest of these receipts 
preserved is dated at Philadelphia, July 24, 1767. and is for thirty-nine pounds two shillings and 
ninepence. It seems his trading in Philadelphia was largely with two persons named Daniel 
and William Wister, as their names are attached to many of the receipts. In these receipts the 
spelling of the name varies, sometimes being Schweiber, Sweitzer, or Switzer, and once it is 
spelled Schweighlger. In no instance does the name Swisher appear. Some time during John 



728 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



Schweiber'e stay in the vicinity of Philadelphia, he married Anna Warner. He Boon afterwards 
moved to McQaheysville, Rockingham County, Virginia, where he engaged in merchandising. 
Later, moved to Augusta County, Virginia, where he died in 1802, and was buried on what is 
known as the Spring Hill Farm. This progenitor of the family in America left a large family 
of children. These were John, Jacob, Henry, Samuel, Daniel, George, Nancy, Elizabeth, and 
Mary. Of these Nancy married a man named Pence, Elizabeth married a Fauber, while Mary 
married Philip Thurman, of Illinois. 

John Switzer or Swisher, as the name had come to be called, the father of David Warner 
Swisher, was married in 1811 to Catherine Trout. To them were born thirteen children ; Mary, 
Anna, Elizabeth, John, Sarah, Jacob, Margaret, David, George, Henry, Samuel, Rebecca, and 
William. Of these Mary married John Koiner, Anna married Joseph Spore, Elizabeth married 
William Henderson, Sarah married Jacob Swisher, Margaret married Stuart Bennett, and Rebecca 
married Taylor Parker. 

Upon the death of his first wife, John Swisher married Mary Grow, and two children, Daniel 
and James Swisher, were born to them. The descendants of the Swisher family are now scat- 
tered to almost every State of the Union, and in nearly every instance their habits of industry and 
perseverance have won for them the respect of their fellows and an honorable place in society. 

The subject of this sketch, David Warner Swisher, was born a farmer's son, and has followed 
farming for his life's work. He received such education as the common schools of his time 
afforded. This was, of course, meagre, but his excellent business foresight and judgment have 
served him well for any lack of school-training. About the year 1838 he, with his father, moved 
from Augusta County, Virginia, to what is now Preston County, West Virginia, but he remained 
there only a short time, until he moved to Hampshire County, where he bought land near Hig- 
ginsville in 1841. David W. Swisher married Miss Katharine Bonnifield in February, 1846. 
Miss Bonnifield was a daughter of Dr. Arnold Bonnifield, of St. George, West Virginia. She had 
been carefully instructed by her father and in schools of those early days, besides having at- 
tended an Academy at Pruntytown for several terms. She had thus acquired what was for those 
days a polished education, and began teaching school soon after leaving the Academy. She 
came to Hampshire in 1845 an# took up a school near Higginsville. While here she met Mr. 
Swisher, and they were married the following year. Soon after their marriage the young couple 
took up their abode on the lower Levels, at which place they still live. Mr. Swisher has always 
been closely connected with the thought and progress of his neighborhood. When the Free 
School system was inaugurated it had his hearty sympathy, although he was strongly Southern 
in feeling, and many of his neighbors ridiculed the new educational system, branding it as a 
"Yankee" institution. He was a member of the first board of education in his district under 
the new system, and had as his associates " Jackey" Thompson, Joseph Parker, and Zeiler Chad- 
wick. Since then he has many times been trustee of the Levels School, and has always watched 
the progress of education with satisfaction. 

/ As a farmer he may be taken as a model, as his beautiful farm wrought out of the wilderness 
well attests. As a business man, few persons have a clearer insight into conditions than he. As 
a citizen he commands the respect of all who know him for his honesty, integrity, and industry. 
In politics Mr. Swisher is a Democrat. His church connection is with the Methodist Episcopal 
South. His children are Silas Newton, Anzalettie, Addie, John Arnold, Mary Isabel, David, 
Edward, Franklin, and Howard. 

H. C. SWISHER, son of John and Catherine Swisher, was born at Tinkling Spring, Augusta 
County, Virginia, January 28, 1826. He is of Swiss-German descent. He came to Hampshire 
County in 1842, and is at present living at Levels Cross Roads in Springfield district. He was 
married March 25, 1847, to Elizabeth E., dnughterof Samuel C. and Virginia Fauber, of Augusta 
County, Virginia. His children are Mary E., Samuel S., Jane A., Robert L., and Charles K. Mr. 
Swisher is a farmer by occupation. He owns land on the Levels and near Higginsville. His son 
Charles K. Swisher is associated with his father in farming and dealing in stock. C. K. Swisher 
is one of the most progressive young men of his neighbourhood, and recognized as the leader of 
his political party in the northeastern part of the county. Both father and son are Democrats. 

SAMUEL SWISHER, son of John Swisher, was born in Augusta County, Virginia, March 
23, 1827. In 1842 he removed with his father to Hampshire County, and is at present a resident 
of Gore district. He is a farmer by occupation, but has followed merchandising a good portion 
of his life. He was married, January 18, 1848, to Leah C, daughter of Philip and Rebecca Fahs ; 
children, Rebecca E., Middle F., James H., Philip M., Mattie C, and Taylor P. He was married 
a second time to Miss McBride, and the children of this union are Nettie R., Robert W., Myrtie 
V., Minnie L., Samuel M., and Wildy B. 

S. N. SWISHER, son of D. W. and M. K. Swisher, was born in Hampshire County, March 
26, 1848. He taught school during the winter of 1868-69, and for ten consecutive winters fol- 
lowing. During the year 1871 he made an extended trip to the west, visiting the States of Illi- 
nois, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, and Kansas. He removed to Tucker County, West Virginia, in 
1873, where he has 6ince resided. He has held the offices of president of the board of education, 
county commissioner, road commissioner, and assessor in his adopted county. He was married, 
October 7, 1875, to Mary S., daughter of Jesse and Catherine Parsons, of Tucker County. His 
hildren are Minnie B., who teaches school, Scott N., a student at the West Virginia University, 
and Glenn T. 

JOHN A. H. SWISHER, son of D. W. and M. K. Swisher, was born in Hampshire County, 
September 4, 1857. For some years he taught school in his native and adjoining counties. He 
attended the Fairmont State Normal School in 1879 and 1880. At present he is a fruit-grower, 
and resides in Tucker County. He married Ella C, daughter of Edward W. and Mary E. McGill, 
October 17, 1883; children, Wallace, Nellie, Belle, Lee, and Virgil. 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 



729 



EDWARD D. SWISHEB, farmer of Springfield district, eon of David W. and Mary K. 
Swisher, was born 1865; ancestry, English and German; married, 1886, Agnes J., daughter of 
Washington and Catherine Miller, of Pennsylvania; children, Hallie B, Grace E., Clyde E., 
Edward D., Bay M., Mary K., and William B. 

JOHN A. 8TICKLEY, of Mill Creek; farmer; son of Tobias and Maria Stickley; German 
and Scotch ancestry; born near Bomney, 1838; married, 1865, to Grace A., daughter of Joseph 
and Sarah A. Taylor ; children, Tobias T., BufuB W., Joseph B., John B. Mr. Stickley was a 
member of Company F, Thirty-third Virginia Infantry, the "Stonewall Brigade." He was 
severely wonnded in the first battle of Bull Bun. He now owns and resides upon the old Joseph 
Taylor farm of two hundred and twenty-five acres. 

CYBUS 0. STBIEBT, an attorney-at-law of Davis, West Virginia, son of Henry J. and 
Bachel Strieby, was born at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 1866, of American ancestry, married, 
1896, to Miss Addie Adams, daughter of John J. and Angelica Adams, of St. George, West Vir- 
ginia. Mr. Strieby graduated, 1889, from the Susquehanna University, and in December of the 
game year was admitted to practise law in the courts of West Virginia. 

THE SPAID FAMILY. — According to the statement of Joseph Spaid, the oldest one of the 
family now living, George Nicholas Spaid was the first person of that name to settle in Hamp- 
shire Gounty. He came from Germany in 1774, bnt from what part of that country is not known. 
He settled on Capon Biver, not far from Hoak's Mills, where he tilled the virgin soil. He mar- 
ried a Miss Kale, of Capon. To them were born nine children. Elias died when eleven years 
old. In the early part of the century George Nicholas Spaid, after having reared his family, 
moved to Will's Creek, Ohio. His son Michael married Margaret Cutloaf, and moved to Will's 
Creek also. William, Mary, and Nancy married in Ohio. Elizabeth, Christina, John, and Fred- 
erick remained in Hampshire. Elizabeth became the wife of Henry Secrest, and Christina the 
wife of James Anderson. 

JOHN SPAID, eldest son of George Nicholas Spaid, was born August 19, 1783, and died 
March 3, 1862. He was a farmer. He married Hannah Anderson, December 19, 1805, To them 
were born thirteen children: Mahalah, Enos, Amos, Hiram, Joseph, Margaret, Mary, Rachel, 
Michael, Nancy, Christina, Melinda, and Elizabeth. Mahalah was boru September 17, 1806, and 
married William Arnold, January 3, 1826. Margaret was born November 23, 1814, and died April 
15, 1846, having been married to John Bichards, February 16, 1834. Mary and Bachel were 
twins, born June 4, 1817. Mary was united in marriage to William Gardner, August 27, 1835, 
and died July 12, 1836. Bachel was married to Amos Lafolette, August 31, 1641, and is still 
living. Nancy was boru February 1, 1822. She was married to Cyrus Groves, November 23, 
1843, and died May 24, 1855. Christina was born July 24, 1824, and was married to Joseph 
Secrest, December 17, 1846. Melinda was born June 16, 1826, and was united in marriage to 
Meredith Capper, February 4, 1847. The Cappers live in Winchester, Virginia. Elizabeth was 
born May 26, 1828, and became the wife of Silas Lafollette, February 10, 1848, and died February 
21, 1859. 

ENOS SPATD, the oldest son of John Spaid, was a carpenter by trade, and was born January 
30, 1808. On February 15, 1829, he married Elizabeth Brunner. She lived but a short time, and 
he married Bosanna Stifre, May 10, 1830. They became the parents of eleven children, two of 
whom live in this county, — viz., Emeline and Minerva. Emeline was born February 27, 1S31 , 
and was married to Lewis, son of Mary and Archibald Arnold, March 11, 1852. Hannah Minerva 
was born October 4, 1839. She became the wife of James F., son of Joseph and Anna Kelso, 
March 12, 1860. At the beginning of the Civil War Enos Spaid moved to Dayton, Ohio, his 
sympathies being with the North. Francis M. and John H. are dead. The other children, 
Elisha, James E., Jeremiah, Isaac N., Asberine, Alsinda, and Alonzo P., live about Dayton and 
Hartford, Ohio. 

AMOS SPAID, second son of John Spaid, was a farmer, born September 22, 1809. Maria, 
daughter of Abraham Hackley, became his wife February 9, 1832. To them were born the fol- 
lowing children: John J., Margaret, Emily, Flavius, and Sarah. All married except Sarah, who 
died at the age of eighteen. Margaret became the wife of John, son of Felix and Bachel Good. 
Emily married Elkana, son of Amos and Rachel Lafolette. They are both dead. 

JOHN J. SPAID, shoemaker by trade, is the oldest son of Amos Spaid, and was born Decem- 
ber 28, 1S32. He married Margaret, daughter of Felix and Rachel Good, September 1, 1857. 
Their first children were twins, born January 15, 1859. Both were boys, Lorenzo and Uriah by 
name. They died young. Their two boys, James William and Lemuel J., were born June 12, 
1860, and September 7, 1870, respectively. Lemuel is a successful teacher. James married Laura 
E. Fox, daughter of J. J. Updike, of Browntown, Virginia, January 2, 1883. They had two chil- 
dren, John W. H., born January 10, 1884, and Annie E. E., born July 2, 1889. 

FLAVIUS J. SPAID, farmer by occupation, and second son of Amos Spaid, was born May 
20, 1846. He married Mary, daughter of James and Elizabeth Wilson, November 28, 1867. The 
following are their children, with date of birth : Sarah E., born April 19, 1868; Amos J., Septem- 
ber 11, 1869; Asbury C, October 21, 1871 ; Jeremiah J., May 7, 1873; Maria E., June 23, 1875; 
May M., October 20, 1877 ; Clarisa S., December 5, 1880; John Arthur, August 19, 1883. Asbury 
died October 5, 1872, and Sarah, September 4, 1894. Sarah was married to Lemon, son cf Amos 
and Elizabeth Brill, March 2, 1887. Amos J. Spaid was married to Laura, daughter of John and 
Margaret Slonaker, January 19, 1893. They have two children, Alfie G., born September 8, 1894, 

C 



HISTORY OP HAMPSHIRE. 



and Daisy N., born September 2, 1896. Amos J. is a carpenter by trade. Maria E. became the 
wife of Aljcrarn, son of Amos and Elizabeth Brill, November 11, 1896. 

HIRAM SPAID, third son of John Spaid, was a farmer, and was born April 6, 1814, and 
lied November 12, 1876. His marriage to Jemima, daughter of William and Elizabeth Lafol- 
ette, occurred April 29, 1832. To them were born fourteen children, whose names and dates 
>f birth are given below: Levi was born March 22, 1833; Margaret J., January 5, 183-5; Eliz- 
abeth, .November 14, 1836: Rebecca, January 15, 1839; John November 7, 1840; Frederick 
M., October 23, 1842: Silas J., February 1,1845; Annie M., March 2, 1847; Hannah C, July 
17, 1849; Sarah F., November 10, 1851; Christina A., April 6, 1854; Begina S., February 18, 
1857; Tilberry M., June 19, 1860; George A., July 21, 1863. Of these the following died without 
marriage: Silas J., died January, 1856 ; George , February 3, 1876: Sarah, October 7, 1876; Re- 
becca, December 15, 1895. Elizabeth was married to John, sou of Bartholomew and Nellie 
">afollette, March 4,1856. Margaret was united in marriage, April 30, 1856, to William, son of 
Jacob and Catherine Cline. Annie became the wife of Paul, son of Samuel and Mary Brill, 
December 13, 1867. Hannah was married, December 11, 1874, to George, son of Samuel and 
Maria Davis. Christina became the wife of Terry, son of Jacob and Emily Swisher, Jan- 
uary 11, 1877. Begina was married to Henry, son of Spencer and Sarah Gray, December 28, 
1893. 

LEVI SPAID, the oldest son of Hiram Spaid, was a farmer. He married Margaret, 
daughter of Jacob and Catherine Cline, February 14, 1858. To them were born three children, 
Jacob F., November 25, 1858; William L., June 8,1860; Jemima C, February 4, 1862. In 1861 
Levi entered the Confederate army. He belonged to Captain Herrell's company. Thirty-third 
Regiment, Stonewall Jackson's brigade. He died of fever at Richmond, April. 1863. His son 
William died November 24, 1864. His widow died March 11, 1895. 

JACOB SPAID, farmer by occupation, married Lvdia A., daughter of Amos and Elizabeth 
Brill, January 11, 1894. Arthur W., their son, was born May 11, 1896. 

JOHN W. SPAID, second son of Hiram Spaid, is a shoemaker by trade. He married 
Margaret, daughter of Michael and Eleanor Brill, March 2, 1865. Their children, with dates 
cf birth, are as follows: Arthur Rusmiselle Miller was born July 27, 1866; Luther Lore, Oc- 
•ber 20, 1868; Elia Mav, June 17, 1870 ; Martha Evalona. July 12, 1875 ; William Pohe, July 
m, 1878 ; Nellie Love, May 28, 1881. Luther died May 27, 1877, and William, April 16,1885. 
idia M. was married to Carter G., son of Joseph and Elizabeth Kelso, March 19, 1891. He 
died October 30, 1891, and his widow married Lemon H., son of Amos and Elizabeth Brill, 
March 24, 1896. Martha E. was united in marriage with Samuel, son of Henry and Laura 
Fox, October 17, 1895. 

ARTHUR R. M. SPAID, the only son of John W. Spaid, is a teacher by profession. He 
attended the district school until he was in his twentieth year. In the spring of 18S6 he 
entered Professor Taylor's school at Lacey Spring, Virginia, where he remained three months. 
The same snmmer he attended Professor Borglebaugh's Normal at Broadway, Virginia, for a 
short time ; took the teacher's examination, secured a certificate and a school — Loan Oak — 
vvhere he taught his first school. He engaged for a second year ; but at the invitation of a cousin 
ia© went to Washington, Ohio ; and having decided to enter Washington College, he resigned 
lis position in Virginia. The first year he supported himself by acting as assistaut librarian of the 
college, also as librarian of the Woman'6 Christian Temperance Union library in the town. He 
::ept " bachelor's hail," living on two or three dollars per month. The following year he supported 
.umself by acting as sexton of the Christian Church. In 1890 he became principal of the Twin 
r ownship high school at Bourneville, Ohio. In order to economize, he and E. M. Parrett, 
eacher of the village school, kept " bachelors' -hall." In 1891 he again entered college; but 
the illness and death of his brother-in-law took him back to Bourneville. He completed the 
term of school which his brother-in-law had left unfinished. At the close of the term he re- 
turned to college and completed his course in 1893, receiving the degree of A B. He was 
awarded the Haverford fellowship, worth five hundred dollars, and entitling him to a year of 
post-graduate work in Haverford College. In 1894 he received the degree of A.M. The same 
j ear he was elected principal of the Alexis I. Du Pont School of Wilmington, Delaware; a 
position he still holds. He at once placed himself in the front rank of the educational 
fl orkers of Delaware, and received the commendation of the press and the educators for his 

.vanced ideas. He is a believer in public schools, and he argues that no aim is too high for 
. American youth who has ambition for better things. His own life-work is an example 
: what industry can accomplish under circumstances by no means the most favorable. He 
;jas demonstrated that it is no more difficult for a talented man to become a leader than to follow 
Others. The sum and substance of it all is well-directed work. 

Mr. Spaid was united in marriage to Miss Mary Abi, daughter of Mary B. and Benjamin 
''"arquhar, of Wilmington, Ohio, September 30, 1897. Mrs. Spaid was born April 11, 1872. In 

.ne, 1894, she graduated from Wilmington College. After having spent a year in a kinder- 
garten training class in Columbus, Ohio, she became the kindergartner in the Alexis I. Du Pont 
School at Wilmington, Delaware. 

FREDERICK M. SPAID, the third son of Hiram Spaid, is a farmer. He married Catherine, 
daughter of John and Cinderella Brill, December 13, 1866. To them have been born the follow- 
ng children : Edward T., born October 31, 1867 ; Frances H., October 10, 1869; John W., October 
23, 1871 ; Tilberry F., November 30, 1877; Margaret A. B., April 14, 1S80; Cora J., June 13, 1884. 
Frederick Spaid volunteered his services to the Confederacy in 1861, and served through the war, 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 



73i 



a member of Captain Lovett's company, E, Twenty-third Virginia Regiment. He was in nine 
battles, and received two ballet-boles through his clothes, one passing through his hat. Frances 
H. became the wife of Walter, son of John and Eliza Brill, November 14, 18»4. 

JOHN W SPAID, a farmer, son of Frederick Spaid, married Almira, daughter of William 
and Mary Kidgway, May 26, 1896. Their daughter, Maud B., was born March 19, 1897. 

TILBEBRY M. SPAID, the youngest living son of Hiram Spaid, was married to Lydia, 
daughter of Isaac and Jane Pennington, October 1, 1885. Their son Frank Clayton was born 
September 11, 1887. Mr. Spaid keeps a general store, and iu May, 1897, entered upon the duties 
of constable of Capon district. 

JOSEPH SPAID, fourth son of John Spaid, farmer by occupation, was born December 7, 
1812. ' When a baby he crawled out of the cradle into the fire and burned the toes off both feet. 
However, that has not kept him from doing much hard work. He is the oldest Spaid living. 
He married Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas Leatberman, November 24, 1836. They became the 
parents of four children. John W. was born October 18, 1838 ; Hannah C, June 17, 1842 ; Nicho- 
las L., August 15, 1846 ; Charles F., January 1, 1853. 

JOHN W. SPAID, oldest son of Joseph Spaid, went west in 1860. He lives at neyworth, Illi- 
nois, and is the father of ten children. Hannah became the wife of Jules G. Pennington, but 
died 1862. 

NICHOLAS L. SPAID, a farmer, second son of Joseph Spaid, married Angeline, daughter of 
Thomas and Elizabeth Anderson, March 26, 1873. The following are their children, wkh dates 
of birth: Evan W , June 30, 1874; Angus R , August 21, 1875 ; Branson B., January 2, 1877 ; Elvie 
C, June 1, 1879; Ora C, June 2<>, 1880 ; Nicholas R., November 30, 1881 ; Bertba L., September 
3, 1883 ; Charles C, October 18, 1885; Ada E., November 28, 1887 ; Daniel B., June 13, 1890; Ida 
S., September 20, 1893. Evan W. died November 3, 1874. Angus R. Spaid is a teacher by pro- 
fession. 

CHARLES F. SPAID, carpenter, youngest son of Joseph Spaid, married Sarah, daughter of 
Jacob and Eliza Good, December 13, 1877. Their children are Liilie B., born October 2, 1878 ; 
John R., March 6. 1880; Margaret E., March 13, 1885; Joseph C, December 7, 1886; Jacob W., 
October 10, 1892; Florence L., May 25, 1895. 

MICHAEL SPAID, farmer, the fiftb son of John Spaid, was torn July 17, 1819. He married 
Mary E., daughter of Jacob and Catherine Cline, August 22, 1849. He died January 18, 1868. 
The first child born to them, James C, June 27, 1850, died April 2, 1851. The following are 
living: Miranda I., born April 7, 1852; Ellen C, July 26, 1853 ; Sarah J., July 24, 1855; Aljourn 
R., November 24, 1857; Matthias William, May 24, 1860; Mary M., February 11, 1865. Aljourn 
lives at Lee Summit, Missouri. Mary became the wife of Atweil Alverson, January, 1897. They 
live in Texas. 

The secoud branch of the Spaid family sprang from Frederick Spaid, brother to John Spaid. 
He was born December 3, 1785. He was married to his first wife, Margaret McVicar, May 5, 
1808. Their childreu were as follows : Elizabeth, born March 22, 1809 ; Nancy, September 24, 
1810; George, February 12, 1812 ; Margaret, February 16, 1816 ; Mary. September 17, 1820; Pris- 
cena, December 4, 1824. Elizabeth became the wife of Philip, son of Philip and Elizabeth Cline, 
February 27, 1827. Nancy never married. Margaret united herself in marriage with David 
Garvin, September 20, 1832. Mary died young, November 18, 1823. Priscena became the wife of 
David Moreland. 

GEORGE SPAID, the only son of Frederick Spaid, was a farmer by occupation, although he 
was magistrate of Capon district for many years. He married Rebecca, daughter of William and 
Eleanor Moreland, August 25, 1836. He died March 13, 1879. His wife died August 13, 1878. 
There were six children: Margaret, born July 10, 1837; Mary, November 10, 1838; Rebecca, 
March 21, 184U; Lemuel, March 14, 1842; Fannie, February 25, 1844; Eliza, August 24, 1850. 
Margaret became the wife of Evau P. Ward, son of Simeon and Sarah Ward, April 12, 1854. Mrs. 
E. P. Ward's second husband was William Hall, son of William and Rachel Hall, whom she mar- 
ried in March, 1873. Mary was married to Levin, son of George and Mary Moreland, February 
5, 1862. Rebecca married Isaiah, son of Robert and Mary Honk, June 21, 1863. Lemuel Spaid 
married Miranda, daughter of Michael and Elizabeth Spaid, December 22, 1880. They live at 
Odessa, Missouri, and have a large family. Fannie married Robberts Chamberlain, December 23, 
1868. Eliza became the wife of John, son of Samuel and Maria Davis, December 23, 1868. 
Frederick Spaid married his second wife, Priscilla Capper, May 22, 1832. Their children were 
Harriet and Marjary. Harriet became the wife of Elias Arnold. She was born November 19, 
1833. Marjary, born October 28, 1834, became the wife of Flavius Sine, and is still living. 

PHILIP SHELLY, son of Daniel and Catherine Shelly (nCe Fauver), was born in Augusta 
County, 1S31; German, Scotch, and Irish descent. In 1854 he married Hannah, daughter of 
Jacob and Margaret Shank ; children, William and Luther. Mr. Shelly married a second time, 
1877, to Susan, daughter of John and Carolina Hott ; children, John, Theodore, Homer, and 
Eltie. 

H. W. SHORT, farmer of Bloomery district, son of Joseph C. aud Phoebe J. Short, German 
ancestry, was born 1S78. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch was John Short, who was 
a shoemaker. His family consisted of seven boys and four girls. Joseph C. Short was youngest. 



/ 



73 2 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



He was born 1857 and died 1894. He was a farmer. He married Phoebe Jane Snyder, daughter 
of Jacob Snyder, of Wordensville, Hardy County. They had eight children, only two of whom 
are living, H. W. and Lillian Grace Short. Joseph Snyder's second wife was Isabella J. Bennear. 
They had one child, now dead. Miss Bennear's father, James Bennear, resides at Elk Garden. 
He was in the Federal army. 

DANIEL SHANHOLTZ, farmer of Bloomery, son of Samuel and Phoebe Shanholtz, was born 
1844; German parentage; married, 1869, Rebecca, daughter of Nicholas H.and Maria Harris; 
children, Minnie, Florence B., Taylor, Joseph E., and Harnian B. 

THOMAS E. SANTINGERE, farmer of Bloomery, son of John B. and Harriet Santingere, 
of German and Irish ancestry, was born 1855 ; married, 1877, Elizabeth, daughter of John and 
Harriet Allen ; children, John W., Edward T., Harvey D., James 0., Asa W., Ernest L., Leslie. 
Maggie H., and Minnie E. 

JOSHUA SHANHOLTZ, of Bloomery ; carpenter; son of Martin and Elizabeth Shanholtz ; 
German ancestry; born 1853; married, 1878, Mary J., daughter of John and Mary J. Smith; 
children, Leonora, Alvesta, John, Smith, Sarah, James V., Carl L., Harry, and Ira. 

BENJAMIN H. STROTBER, farmer of Bloomery, son ot Benjamin and Nancy Strother, 
German ancestry, was born, 1823, in Virginia; married, 1855, Letitia, daughter of Joseph and 
Lucinda Sale, of Virginia; children, George W., Dorsey S., Rosetta B., Florence A., John R., 
and Albert H. Mr. Strother was twice married, the second time, 1873, to Elizabeth M., daughter 
of Madison and Sarah Paskel ; children, Annie E., "Walter M., Lily W., Tenna E., and Ada M. 
Mr. Strother served two years in the Confederate army. He owns three hundred acres, half 
improved. 

A. J. SAGER, farmer of Bloomery, son of James and Mary Sager, was born 1867 ; German 
ancesters. He owns two hundred and fifty acres, fifty improved. 

SIMON W. SWISHER, farmer of Bloomery, son of John and Priscilla Swisher, was born of 
German parentage, 1839 ; married, 1864, Mary E., daughter of John and Julia Hiett. Their 
son's name is Edward L. Mr. Swisher was captain of Company G, One Hundred and Fourteenth 
Virginia militia, until the company disbanded. He then volunteered in the cavalry, and served 
till the close of the war, surrendering at Winchester. He was one of the few Confederate 
soldiers never wounded or taken prisoner. 

B. W. SHANHOLTZ, farmer of Bloomery, son of James and Harriet Shanholtzer, was born 
of German parentage, 1850; married, 1872, Amanda E., daughter of Isaac and Matilda Pepper; 
children, Bertha V., Henry G., Carrie E„ Ernest L., Lily M., James C, and John C. His 
laughter Bertha has taught two terms of school in Hampshire. 

A. C. SLONAKER, farmer and miller residing in Bloomery district, son of David and Mar- 
garet Slonaker, was born 1855; married, 1874, Elizabeth E., daughter of George and Margaret 
lott; children, Irene M , Robert B., Mary C, Daily R. He held the postmastership at Cold 
Stream twenty-one years; was deputy sheriff eight years. He now owns the mill at Cold 
^treani, which was built by a man named Largent a hundred years ago. It has chauged owner- 
> nip from Largent to Thomas Yonley, from Yonley to Jonathan Lovett. It was then sold by 
aecree of court, by Commissioner A. P. White, to Deskin Wills, and in 1876 it became the prop- 
erty of its present owner, who operated it on the old process until 1896, when he put in rollers. 
Mr. Slonaker owns four hundred and one acres, half improved, and has interests in other lands. 

WESLEY SLONAKER, wagon-maker and farmer of Capon, son of Christopher and Mary 
Slonaker, German and Welsh descent, was born 1835 ; married Louisa L., daughter of John E. 
<nd Jane Heatwole, 1882 ; owns one hundred and seventy-five acres, one hundred improved. He 
ivas in the Confederate army. 

H. H. SHARFE, printer of Romney, son of John H. and Fannie J., German and English 
ancestry, was born in Baltimore, 1871 ; married Ada L., daughter of H. C. Jackson, 1891. Their 
vhild's name is Ruth. 

C. W. SCHAFFENAKER, blacksmith of Bloomery, son of William Schaffenaker, is of German 
> rigin. He has held the offices of school trustee and county assessor. 

WILLIAM H. SALE, proprietor of Capon Springs; son of W. P. and N. C. Sale; English 
ancestry; bom 1831, in Rockbridge County; married Sarah J., daughter of Samuel and Mary S. 
McCorkle, of Rockbridge. Their daughter's name is Sarah J He was in the Confederate army, 
:i member of the staff of General Fitzhugh Lee. Captain Sale was manager of the Rockbridge 
Alum Springs sixteen years, beginning 1854. He then became the proprietor of Capon Springs. 
He is believed to be the oldest spring manager in the United States. 

CHARLES W. SCHAFFENAKER, blacksmith of Bloomery, son of C. W. and Catherine 
Schaffenaker, German ancestry, was born in New Jer.ey, 1857; married Martha F., daughter of 
L'lias and Harriet F. Arnold, of Frederick County, 1885:. He has served as member of the board 
of education and assessor. \ 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 



733 



B. F. SINE, teacher of Capon district, eon of F. J. and M. A. Sine, English ancestry, was 
born 1865; married Annie R., daughter of B. F. and Julia A. Kerns, of Frederick Ooonty, 1891 ; 
their child's name is Guy B. He has taught in Stuart Normal College, the Shenandoah Normal 
College, in the Rock Enon High School, and in a normal school which he established at Capon 
Bridge. 

GEORGE W. SLONAKER, farmer of Capon, son of Mr. and Mrs. George H. Slonaker,. Ger- 
man ancestry, was born 1843 ; married Almira, daughter of Hillery and Sarah Oglesbee, 1871 ; 
children, James A., Dora E , John W., Charles E., Sarah M/, Joshua D., Leatha V., and Carl M. 
He was a soldier under Stonewall Jackson, and was a prisoner nearly two years. 

GEORGE SAVliLE, farmer of Gore, son of Oliver and Mary Saville, German descent, was 
born 1814; married Sarah J., daughter of Moses and Elizabeth Robinson, 1860; children, J. J., 
J. D., W. T. L., and G. L. 

S. A. SNYDER, Gore district, railroader, son of Frederick and Lydia Snyder, was born 1872 ; 
German and English descent ; married Flora E., daughter of James S. and Sarah F. Malcolm, 
1892 ; children, Jessie C. and James L. 

BENJAMIN F. SNYDER, farmer residing near Okonoko, son of Frederick and Lydia Snyder, 
German and English ancestry, was born 1861; married Mary E., daughter of Washington and 
Catherine Miller, 1886 ; children, Edith M. and Ora L. 

SILAS L. SHANHOLTZER, farmer residing near Higginsville, son of Silas and Joanna 
Shanholtzer, was born 1842 ; German ancestry ; married Maria, daughter of James and Catherine 
Wattson, 1867 ; children, Mary A., Lorenza E., Catherine G., and Herbert G. 

BENJAMIN J. SHANHOLTZER, farmer of Gore, son of Joseph and Mary Shanholtzer, 
was born 1842; German extraction; married Nancy J., daughter of John W. and Elizabeth 
Daugherty, of Maryland, 1868. 

WILLIAM SHADE, farmer residing on the Levels, son of Adam and Elizabeth Shade, 
was born in Frederick County, 1833; married Mrs. J. W. C. Largent, daughter of Josiah and 
Mary Kaylor, 1895. 

H. J. STRIEBY, farmer residing near Spring Gap, son of Jonas and Sarah Strieby, Dutch 
parentage, was born near Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 1835 ; marrie^ Rachel, daughter of Na- 
than and Catherine Ridge, of Pennsylvania; children, Sadie A., Cyrus 0.,Emma A., Joseph C, 
Harry E., and Clara M. 

A. J. SHANHOLTZ, farmer of Gore district, son of John and Barbara Shanholtz, was born 
1844: German parentage; married Sallie M., daughter of Peter and Alcinda Alkire, 1871 ; chil- 
dren, M. G., Ettie M., Lulu B., Bursie E., Harper A., Vernie 0., and Thurman W. 

BENJAMIN W. SMITH, minister residing near Augusta, son of Jefferson and Ellen Smith, 
was born of German parentage, 1860; married Martha J., daughter of John and Anna Corbin, 
1884 ; children, Annie C. M. and Mary Elivildie. 

S. J. STUMP, farmer of Gore district, son of John and Nancy Stump, was born of Ger- 
man ancestry ; he married Rebecca, daughter of John and Rebecca Coddy ; children, Margaret 
E. } Ann R., and Sarah J. 

WILLIAM SMALTZ, farmer of Gore, near North River Hills, son of Jonas and Barbara 
Smaltz, was born, 1830. in Germany : married Caroline, daughter of Henry and Wilhelmina 
Bower, of Germany, 1864; children, Henry W., William L., Emma A., and Ella M. 

JAMES T. SPICER, farmer residing near Spring Gap. son of Henry and Hannah Spvcer, 
was born 1842; Irish extraction; married Anna B., daughter of James and Anna Nealis, 1377; 
children, Maggie E., Anna C, Mary E., Clara B M George W., Joseph H., and Rose M. 

SYLYESTER SNYDER, farmer of Gore district, son of Adam and Barbara Snyder, was bon. 
in Pennsylvania, 1855; Irish and German descent: married Man', daughter of Abraham and 
Mary Newcomer, 1880; children, Lizzie, Wesley A., and Amos. 

JAMES F. SMITH, residing near Slanesville; machinist; son of Jefferson and Sup 
Smith ; German descent ; born 1855 ; married Laura, daughter of W. R. aud Martha K 
1880 ; children, Sardis E., AlbertL., Gorda A., Alonzo D., and Herbert F. 

I. J. SAYILLE, school-teacher residing at Pleasant Dale, son of Oliver and 
ville, was born 1863, of French descent; in 1888 he married Oceanna, daughter 
Margaret Barnes ; children. Ira C, Ada P., Essie I., and Blanche. 

J. WILLIAM SMITH, farmer of Go- district, near Pleasant Dale, 
Poliy A. Smith, German descent, was boi 186" ; married Sarah A. M., 
Martha Piles; children, W. F., Dailey C J& isan M., and 0. G. 

w 



734 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



JOHN W. STUMP, of Gore district, railroader by occupation, son of W. M. and Rebecca 
Stamp, was born of German parentage, 1837 ; married Ehoda A., daughter of Bailey and 
Elizabeth Catlett, 1867 ; children, Lorena M., E. W., and Bessie M. Mr. Stump, in 1876, mar- 
ried Miss Jennie Showalter. 

WILLIAM R. SHANHOLTZER, farmer of Gore, son of Isaac and Jane Shanboltzer, was 
born 1849; German ancestry; married Elizabeth C. , daughter of James and Jane Henderson, 
1870 ; children, Mary M. J., Sarah E. M , Annie B., Charles J., James R. L., Jacob W. R., 
Isaac S. E., Eatella G. M., and Minnie N. F. 

B. A. SHANHOLTZER, farmer of Gore, son of Jacob and Catherine Shanholtzer, was born 
1851, of German and Irish parentage; married Eliza E., daughter of James H. and Caroline 
Saville, 1875 ; children, Hamilton T., Marshall G., Virginia M., James J. C, Sarah B., and George 
E. Mr. Shauboltzer, in 1894, was married to Miss Ettie Doman. 

EDWARD MAYBERRY SMITH, formerly of Hampshire, but now connected with the Mis- 
souri, Kansas, and Texas Trust Company, of Kansas City, Missouri, was born in Romney, 1858; 
son of Abraham and Mary Elizabeth Smith ; married, June 1, 1893, Elizabeth Reid, daughter of" 
John W. and Elizabeth Waddell, of Lexington, Missouri. Their son's name is Walter Edward. 
Abraham Smith was killed in the Confederate army, an account of which will be found in this 
book. Mrs. Smith, with her two sons, Edward M. and Robert E., went to Missouri in 1870, and 
settled at Lexington. She died at that place four years later. 

B. F. SHANHOLTZER, school-teacher residing in Springfield district, son of Fahsand Sarah 
A. Shanholtzer, was born 1871; German ancestry; married, 1893, Mary J., daughter of J. W. 
and Susan C. Crock ; children, Claud E. and Charles L. 

J. N. SAYILLE, railroading ; son of Jerry and Mary Saville, of Springfield district ; born in 
Hardy County, 1863; married, 1884, Martha, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Miles; children, 
Boyd. Cora, Rose, Alice, and Susie. 

JAMES A. SHORT, shoemaker, Springfield district, son of John and Susan Short, was born 
1854 ; Irish ancestry. 

SAMUEL SMITH, railroading, resident of Green Spring, was born in Maryland, 1851 ; son 
of Jacob and Mary C. Smith ; German ancestry ; married, 1877, Cynthia, daughter of James and 
Sophia Crabtree, of Maryland. 

J. 0. SAYILLE, railroading, resident of Springfield district, son of Jacob and Elizabeth 
SavSlle, was born 1849; German ancestry; married, 1875, Amanda J., daughter of James and 
Sophia Crabtree, of Marvland : children, Kirk W., Eva I., Jacob H., J. Samuel, James T., and 
Elia T. M. 

M. L. SNYDER, farmer of Springfield district, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Snyder, was 
bom 1858; German ancestry; married, 1881, Ellen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Washington 
Miller, of Pennsylvania ; children, M. W., W. C, L. M., and Oscar Lee. 

JAMES W. SAYILLE, farmer of Springfield district, son of Jacob and Elizabeth Saville, 
was born 1839; English and German ancestry; married, 1864, Miss M.J.Malcolm, daugbter 
of John and Eleanor Malcolm; children, William L., E. B.. C. H., G. M., J. T., E. G., E. May, 
and N. C. Saville. 

WILLIAM S. SCTER, engineer, resident of Springfield district, was born, 1841, in Penn- 
sylvania; son of George W. and Susanna Suter; Irish and German ancestry; married, 1867, 
Marjraret, daughter of John and Margaret Kagarrice, of Pennsylvania; children, Mary E., 
Paulina B., Sarah C, Josephine E., David R., William E., Eliza L., Wayne G., Percy E., George 
E. B r ind Elva Y. 

BENJAMIN SHANNON, justice of the peace, Springfield district, son of Andrew and 
Mary Shannon, was born 1821 ; Irish ancestry ; married, 1842, Hannah C, daughter of Jeremiah 
Mid Maria Chadwick, of Kentucky; children, Mary E., J. C, James, William, Anna B., Robert 
L., Elizabeth, and John. 

C. K. SWISHER, farmer of Springfield district, son of Henry C.and Elizabeth E. Swisher; 
an ancestry: born 18G9; married, 1895, Annie L., daughter of James A. and Margaret 

of Maryland. 



SHANHOLTZER, blacksmith of Springfield district, son of Jacob and Catherine 
was born 1845; German ancestry; married, 1873, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
children, M. L. C, S. E. A., S. R. M., C. Y. F., M. A. M., D. R. E., and John W. 

\ farmer of Springfield district, son of Frederick and Lydia A. Snyder, was 
narentage; married, 1895, Anna B., daughter of Samuel and Elmira Sho- 
name is Lydia E. s 



-boMnaker of Springfield dis 
i ancestry ; married, 1867, 



\ 




ict, son of Frederick and Annie Starnes 
da J., daughter of Perry and Eliza Ches ' 




FAMILY SKETCHES. 



735 



•hire ; children, Thomas A., Charles F., Wade H., Mary A., and.Ellis C. Mr. Starnes was in the 
Confederate army; was taken prisoner at Frederick, Maryland; spent three months in the 
hospital, and was released on parole. 

G. W. STICKLBY, farmer near Okonoko, son of Thomas and Mary A. Stickley, was born in 
Virginia, 1852 ; German ancestry ; married, 1874, Nancy E. Kerns ; children, Annie E., James E., 
Emmel I., Thomas B., Gabriel 8., and Lottie P. 

GEORGE W. SIFOED, Springfield district; miller; son of George and Delila Siford; born in 
Morgan County, 1863; German ancestry; married, 1881, Fannie, daughter of James and Mary 
Allison, of Pennsylvania. 

C. W. SINGHASS, merchant of Springfield, son of James A. and Mary L. Singhass, of Vir- 
ginia, was born 1854; English and German anct/try ; married, 1872, Jennie, daughter of James 
and Mary Allison, of Virginia; children, Effie R., Walter F., Nannie P., and Lillian A. 

J. W. STEWAED, farmer of Springfield district, of English ancestry, was born 1867 ; mar- 
ried, 1889, Eliza A., daughter of George and Sardina Steward; children, William N., Benjamin 
B., and Ethel M. 

JACOB B. SEDEBS, farmer of Springfield district, 6on of Thomas Seders, of German an- 
cestry, was married, 1854, to Charlotte A. Kesler, of Kentucky ; children, Mary.-tfohn J., Sarah, 
William T., Keuben H., Asberry, Henry C, Clarence F., Bobert L., and Ida. 

W. A. SHANNON, supervisor on the Baltimore and Ohio Bailroad ; resident of Springfield 
district; sou of James C. and Elizabeth Shannon; Irish ancestry; born 1861; married, 1884, 
Fannie, daughter of William and Louisa Parsons. Their son's name is Augustus C. Shannon. 

JOSEPH STUMP, of South Branch, railroading, son of Joseph and Elizabeth Stump, was 
born, 1816, of English ancestry ; married, 1847, Nancy, daughter of Peter and Mary Hass. 

JAMES SHEETZ, of Eomney ; merchant; son of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Sheetz; born 1815 ; 
married, 1869, to Myra, daughter of William and Nancy Harper, of Pennsylvania. Their 
daughter's name was Nancy H. 

J. W. SHANK, farmer of Bomney district, son of George W. and Catherine A. Shank, was 
born 1835 ; German ancestry ; married Sarah, daughter of William and Bachel Barrett ; chil- 
dren, Charles W. and Delia. Mr. Shank has worked twenty years on the north-western pike. 

M. I. STABNES, farmer of Bomney district, son of Frederick and Annie Starnes, was born 
1849 ; married, 1872, to Sal lie S., daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Albright ; children, Lewis E., 
Charles F., Bobert C, and Maud E. 

WILLIAM B. SMITH, farmer of Romney district, son of George and Leah Smith, was born 
at Moorefield, 1869; married, 1894, to Edith, daughter of Charles and Sarah Keys; children, 
Sarah, Charles F., and Myrtle I. 

J. B. STICKLEY, farmer of Bomney district, son of Tobias and Elizabeth Stickley, was born 
1853; German ancestry; married, 1873, to M. B., daughter of Isaac and Sallie Mills; children, 
Luther D., Tobias W., Otie L., Lloyd E., and Annie E. 

A. E. SETTLETON, of Bomney; teamster; son of Moses and Eliza Settleton ; born 1861; 
married, 1886, to Sarah, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Jackson; children, Fannie, Clarence, 
William, Louisa, and Mary. 

ALEXANDER SINGLETON, of Bomney; teamster; son of Alexander and Emily Singleton; 
born 1876; married, 1896, to Lula, daughter of Isaac and Bertie Brown; children, Leona and 
Herbert. 

JOHN W. SMITH, farmer residing near Augusta, son of Jacob and J. S. Smith, German and 
English parentage, was born 1869; married Minnie S., daughter of David and Mary Shaffer; 
children, Rannie J. and Clarence L. 

JOHN 0. SAVILLE, of Gore, farmer, son of Abraham and Eliza Saville, French ancestry, 
born 1838; married Sarah, daughter of Philip and Emily Shanholtzer; children, William T., 
Delia J , Com H., James C, and Minnie C. Mr. Saville served as a Confederate soldier through 
the war, most of the time in Captain Genevan's company. 

JAMES C. SNAPP, farmer of Gore, son of Joseph and Margaret Snapp, German ancestry, 
was born in Augusta County, 1813 ; married Malinda, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Monroe, 
1860; children, Elizabeth and Alexander W. L. 

J. LUTHER SHELLY, teacher of Sherman district, son of Philip and Hannah Shelly, 
German parentage, was born 1867; married Sarah L., daughter of George and Matilda Rooms- 
burg; children, Luther C, Susan V., and Myrtle. 



I 



736 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



JOHN A. SAVILLE, farmer of Sherman, son of Isaac and Martha Saville, English ancestry 
was bora 1851; married Sallie, daughter of Daniel and Polly Simmona; children, Etna M. 
Matilda E., Rosa B., and James F. 

P. H. SAVILLE, farmer of Gore, son of John and Rebecca Saville, German extraction, was 
born 1860; married Malissa, daughter of George and Elizabeth Malick, 1892. Ida M. is their 
child. 

ROBERT H. STROTHER, carpenter of Sherman district, eon of James Strother, Irish ex- 
traction, was born in Loudoun County, 1842; married Rachel A., daughter of Spencer and Sarah 
Gray, 1871 ; children, Walter Spencer. John Henry, and Joseph Anthony. Mr. Strother died on 
North River, 1893. 

JOSIAH SIRBAUGH, carpenter of Bloomery district, son of Jacob and Elizabeth Sirbaugb, 
was born in Hardy County, 1850; married Harriett A., daughter of John and Elizabeth Harper, 
Virginia; children, Clarence J. and Lulu V. Sirbaugh. 

A. A. SCHULLER, miller and merchant, residing near Sedan, son of Ferdinand and Barbara 
Schuller, German ancestry, was born in Europe, 1851; married Catherine, daughter of Eli and 
Leah Frye, of Virginia, 1880; children, Mary L., Martha V., Bertha E., Lillian, Annie F., Arthur 
X., Rosa V., Effie E., and Florence X. Mr. Schuller was a soldier in the German army during 
the war with France, 1870-71. He came to America in 1873, and to West Virginia in 1876. 

J. H. SAVILLE, farmer of Sherman district, son of Abraham and Eliza Saville, English 
descent, was born 1833; married Caroline, daughter of Henry and Eliza Yoste, 1854; children, 
Amanda F., E. Z., William L., and Rosa L. Mr. Saville was a Confederate soldier two years. He 
was in the fight at the wire bridge near Springfield. 

GEORGE W. SAVILLE, farmer near Kirby, son of Peter A. and Mary C. Saville, was born 
1872; married Dora B., daughter of Harrison and Catherine Peters, 1894; children, Lee E. and 
Harrison 0. He owns one hundred and fifteen acres, seventy-five improved. 

JOHN W. STEWART, farmer of Sherman district, son of James and Lucinda Stewart ; 
Scotch ancestry; married Lydia N., daughter of James and Lizzie Haws, 1889. 

ISAAC SAVILLE, of Pleasant Dale; farmer; son of Abraham and Eliza Saville; English 
parentage; born 1828; married Martha, daughter of James and Nancy McBride, 1851; children, 
John, Elizabeth, James B., Drusilla, E. A., Eliza, Mary, and Robert. 

JAMES L. SWISHER, farmer of Gore, son of Jacob and Sarah Swisher, Swiss and German 
ancestry, was born 1853; married Annie, daughter of Michael and M. E. Scanlon, 1886; children, 
Johanna and James. These children own the old Swisher home, which has been in the family 
sixty years. 

GEORGE TAYLOR, farmer and stock raiser of Mill Creek district; son of Thomas and Mary 
Taylor; English ancestry; born 1847; married, 1879, to Margaret C, daughter of L. and Eliza- 
beth Pugh, of Capon Bridge; children, Pauline M., Georgiana, Mary E., Edith P., Katie T., 
Verdie M. 

WILLIAM TAYLOR, a tanner and farmer; residence, Mechanicsburg ; son of Edward and 
Margaret Taylor; of Irish ancestry ; born, 1819, where he now lives ; married, 1844, to Margaret, 
daughter of John and Ellen Parker; children, Charles W., Sarah F., Ellen H., Mary M., James S., 
Arminta, Alberta L., and L. Clyde. 

SIMON D. TAYLOR, of Harrisonville, Missouri, was for many years an influential citizen 
of Hampshire. When the war began, he espoused the Confederate cau<e, raised a company, was 
elected captain, but, before being mustered into the service, he became disgusted with the failure 
of his men to hold their ground when the enemy appeared in the country, and disbanded the 
company, and soon afterwards joined the Hampshire Guards. He served in that until the 
second battle of Bull Run. He was captured, and was exchanged after two months. He then 
joined Ross^r's cavalry. In the second day's buttle iu the Wilderness he was badly wounded 
through the arm, throat, and jaw. This rendered him unfit for service until the spring of 1865. 
He rejoined the command just before the evacuation of Richmond. He was in the rear during 
Lee's retreat from Richmond, fighting every day. Rosser's brigade did not snrrendtr, but made 
its way westward. Mr. Taylor, while carrying a despatch, was shot through the hand. He 
learned that Lee had surrendered, and he knew that further resistance was useless. He made 
his way to Hampshire, took the oath at Cumberland, and returned to civil life. He subsequently 
removed to the west, and became the editor of a Populist newspaper. His comrades in arms 
speak of him as one of the best soldiers in the army. 

K. TAYLOR, M.D., of Slanesville, son of Benjamin F. and Nancy Taylor, English and 
Scotch ancestry, was born in Loudoun County, 1810: married Louisa H , daughter of Robert and 
Margaret Rannells, 1874; children, Nannie M., Robert K., Ora C, E. F., Cleveland H., aud 
Elridge S. 

JAMES W. F. TAYLOR, farmer residing near Higginsville, son of Joseph I. and Harriet 
Taylor, was born 1852; German and Welsh descent ; married Kessiah F., daughter of Jacob and 
Sarah Swisher, 1877 ; children, Adeline E. and James W. F. 





FAMILY SKETCHES. J 739 

with gentlemen : and he was prowa* of naming Henry Clay, and Senators Pearce and Piatt, of 
Maryland, and other men equally durtittgulef »d, as among those who bad indulged in gaming 
with him. At the time Mr. Waddle came into possession of the Capon Spring property, there 
was only one tavern for the accoipnsodfcfioa of guests, and not more than two or three dozen 
could be entertained in it at a time. It was called the Herron House, and was a somewhat 
rusty, weather-beaten, weather-DWsrded atroeture, of which Waddle was head waiter and chief 
cook, as well as general superintendent. It is recorded that the table which he spread was 
unsurpassed, and that a guest who once visited him usually returned year after ypar. Besides 
the small tavern, there were a number of cabins at which families found comfortable quarters 
and kept house for themselves. In the latter part of his life he joined the Methodist Church, 
and foiever bade adieu to the gaming-table. He died near the close of the Civil War 

J". T. WOODSON, son of Lindsay and Parmelia Woodson, is a fanner near Springfield, of 
English and Scotch descent ; born in Albemarle County, Virginia, 1851; married, 1876, Mary 
C, daughter of William and Margarat Adams; children, William L„ Walter E., and 
Stella M. 

JAMES W. WALKER, farmer near Green Spring, son of William and Adeline Walker, 
was born 1849; Scotch and Irish ancestry; married, 1875, Sarah F., daughter of George and 
Mary J. Gettys, of Pennsylvania; children, George W., Louisa E., J. R., Franklin R., and 
Sarah M. 

HENRY S. WINCE, farmer of Springfield district, Bon of John J. and Mary A. Wince, was 
born 1858; Irish ancestry ; married, 1887, Lucy J., daughter of John M. and Elizabeth A. Wag- 
oner. Their sou's name is Charles H. Wince. 

N. M. WAGONER, farmer of Springfield district, son of William A. and Malinda Wagoner, 
was born 1850; German ancestry; married, 1872, Martha J., daughter of Jesse and Elvina Rice, 
of Maryland ; children, Lloyd B., Lucy L., Clara E., Mary J., Missouri A., Walter S., and Nor- 
man V. 

W. R. WILSON, of Springfield district; merchant; son of Nathan and Mary Wilson ; Irish 
ancestry ; born at Piedmont, 1868 ; married, 1893, Effie, daughter of Samuel and Eliza Benning- 
ton, of Maryland ; children, William R. and N. I. Wilson. 

HOWARD J. WAGONER, attorney*at-law, residing at Davis, West Virginia, son of J. J. 
and Maria Wagon er, was born near Frankfbrt, now Mineral County, 1859; German and Scotch 
ancestry; married, 1888, Mies Lou V., daughter of Charles H. and Margaret A. Sutton, of Han- 
cock, Maryland; children, Carrie May, Howard Sutton, and Karl. Mr. Wagoner taught school 
eleven years in Hampshire, Miner*!, Morgan, and Tucker Counties. 

W. F. WIRGMAN, farmer/bsWent of Bomney district, son of 0. P. and Mary J. Wirg- 
man, of English ancestry, was/byn at Hamilton, Virginia, 1852 ; married, 1881, to Jennie V., 
daughter of John W. and Juli& «p Yaadiver; children, Edna J., 0. Bowly, Meda R., Wilbur F., 
Mary, and JameB V. / / 

J. S. WADDLE, in the railway maii service, son of Julius C. and Mary J. Waddle, was born 
1853, at Winchester; married*, 1891, to Edith, daughter of Isaac and Susan Parsons. Their son 
is John D. Waddle. 

M. W. WATKIN8, farleer Bear Augusta, son of Washington and Rebecca Watkins, English 
and Iri.xh parentage, Was born near Ebenezer, 1845. Mr. Watkins was a Confederate soldier in 
McNeill's company./ 

SILAS WILKIN% son of Abraham and Rachel Wilkins, farmer of Sherman district, was 
born in Hardy Coofcty, 1S67 ; German ancestry ; married Sarah E., daughter of William and A. M. 
Davis, 1892 ; children, Aanie V. and Fanchon V. 

CHARLES B. WOLFORD, carpenter of Sherman district, son of John J. and Elisabeth J. 
Wolford, Getman parentage, was born 1860 ; married Rebecca V., daughter of Jacob and Louise 
Godlove, 1880; ePildreo f -:Tlorence M., Harold C, Charles 0., Preston E., Lemuel C, Mary E., and 
William E. 

THE WHff£ FAMILY have been for many years connected with the history of Hampshire 
County, espe^aT'y sfcice the year 1815, when John Baker White took up Mis residence at Roamey. 
They aTeoT><»tcb ant'l English origin, coming of an old Covenanter family, and nnited 2>y the ties of 
Mood on tie Scotch aide with the martyr Patrick Hamilton and Captain Robert ^hite, who as-, 
gjate^ Ae defence of Derry in 1688-89, and on the English side with Major Henry Baker, w^»»o 
<* mgely conduced that famous defence of Derrv. The family liave since thedays of Kmr A «*en 
Presbyterians. Tne^ ance8tra ] home was neaf Edinburgh," Scotland, and is said to «"1 
standing. 

The first «>f the, r^^y to reg j de in America was Robert White, who was a surger- *}th * h « 
rank of «Wg§|»£fc* u «ritteta navy. Visiting his relative, John William Hoge f<*» v . va f ™ e 
ancestor ofDr Jlf^ ge of Richmond, Judge John Blair Hoge, of Martins^urg, aud the 
Hpgee of Wlteehn^ who re&ided in Delaware, he married his daughter, V et ~?* e { *°Z? 
while he reffided Yo rk, Pennsylvania, where he erected a hor» '^.V' 3 er D1 " 

Scottish home, Wl ute Ha]K He then reni0Yed wifh ,, ig krnafolk : ,e to Virgin. , .ind 



\. . . v 



74o HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

built a home near North Mountain, a little west of Winchester, which he alao called White Hall. 
There he died in the year 1752, in the sixty-fourth year of Mb age, and was buried in the old 
Opeqnon graveyard, near Winchester. He had three Bona who survived him, Robert, Alexander, 
and John, all of whom dideervice in the French and Indian War, and bore commissions under 
the colonial government. Robert inherited a large part of the estate with the residence of his 
father, and it descended to his grandchild. Robert was the grandfather of Francis White*, who 
was sheriff of HampsWre County. Alexander became a lawyer of eminence. Jjpjbn was a mem- 
ber of the first benci of magistrates ofj&ederick County, Virginia, and was the fatfier of Judge 
Robert White. — — — — — — 

ALEXANDER WHITE, after whom Alexander White, of Hardy Connty, now deceased, was 
named, trasa very distinguished patriot and statesman, and an uncle of Judge Robert White. 
There i» a volume of Virginia Historical Reports which contains four hundred and seventy-nine 
pages about Alexander White. He was a member of the House of Burgesses of Virginia with 
Patrick Henry, and it is said in the book referred to that Patrick Henry never voted until after 
he had consulted with Mr. White. Alexander White was an eloquent speaker, aud being of old 
i Scotch Presbyterian stock, he was much opposed to the support in colonial days of the church by 
' the State, and it is said that he was the first man in this country to offer a resolution in a public 
body upon the subject of religious freedom, and this long before George Mason had his cele- 
brated resolutions inserted in the Virginia bill of rights. Mr. White was a member of the Vir- 
ginia convention which ratified the Constitution of the United States. He was also a member of 
the first Congress of the United States, and some of his speeches are found reported in the 
debates of that Congress. It is stated in histories of that time that he was the most eloquent 
man in that Congress. After the adjournment of the first Congress he retired to private life, 
having done much as a patriot and statesman. He was one of the commissioners to adjust the 
matters relating to the northwest territory. He practised his profession and owned extensive 
and valuable lands in Hampshire County. 

JUDGE ROBERT WHITE was the father of the late John Baker White, who for about one- 
half a century was the clerk of both the circuit and county courts of Hampshire County. Judge 
White was one of the early judges in the district of which Hampshire was a part. He held his 
first court in this county early in the present century. 

He was for many years the president of the old general court of Virginia. The following 
sketch, copied from the " Southern Literary Messenger" of May, 1837, tells of his life and char- 
acter. The article is an editorial review of a life of Judge White and others published by a 
Maryland author. 

"Our Maryland friend deserves, and will no doubt receive, the thanks of every Virginian 
for this interesting sketch of her gallant sons and revolutionary heroes. We doubt not that it 
will be acceptable to our readers generally. Virginia ranks among her distinguished sons, 
Robert White, late judge of the general court, who was gathered to his fathers in March, 1831. 
He was born iu the neighborhood of Winchester, March 29, 1759. In his seventeenth year he 
volunteered as a private in a company commanded by Captain Hugh Stevenson, and marched, 
June 20, 1775, from Morgan's Springs, Berkeley County, to Boston, where the British army was 
besieged by Washington. He soon arrested the attention of the commander-in-chief by his 
chivalric bearing. Washington's discerning eye saw in the boy the germ of that remarkable 
decision of character which in after years sustained him in many appalling trials. 

" On March 17, 1776, Boston was evacuated, and White saw his beloved chief occupying the 
position vacated by a cruel and imperious foe. Following the standard of his country, he 
shared the dangers and sufferings of the disastrous campaign of the following summer, when 
he was made an ensign. We next find him at Germantown, on October 4, 1777, where he fought 
as a lieutenant under Major William Darke, of Berkeley County, Virginia, his intimate friend 
through life, who on this occasion displayed an intrepidity unsurpassed by the bravest of the 
brave. 

"After this engagement, which resulted unfavorably to our arms, Lieutenant White was 
"constantly employed in harassing detached parties of the enemy in the spring of 1778. During 
one of these enterprises, at Short Hill, New Jersey, his thigh was broken by a musket-ball, auJ 
nearly at the s;ime moment he received another severe wound in the head from a British grena- 
dier. He fell senseless to the earth, and was taken prisoner. In the autumn, after being ex- 
changed, he reached Winchester by 6low and painful efforts, exceedingly lame, weak, and ema- 
ciated. 

"In 1779 he was commissioned as a captain of cavalry. For some time he was employed in 
recruiting and training his troop in Philadelphia, but was compelled, from bodily inability, to 
reti.-« from service. His military career closed in the twentieth year of his a^e. In this year 
he coitvmenced the study of law in the office of his uncle Alexander White, one of the most 
profound lawyers in the Valley of Virginia. While here he read Blacksttone, Uke, and other 
books for i*?arly four years, until he appeared at the Winchester bar, J)ecembb-, 1783. His 
V health was now restored, and he was quickly cheered with an extensive! and prouable prac- 
tice. He was an able lawyer, clear and cogent in argument, but not eloquVent, his vo.-c rather 
hareu- an d shrill, and in the impetuosity of debate his enunciation was Bomletir^s i affectea. „ 
t0 ' ? t £ tL \niering. Tot ten years he maintained a lofty eminence at the Frl^Jick Dar » during 
which pe riod ne wa8 frequency elected to represent his county in the house V> f delegates. Here 
he mingif >d in debate with some of the most prominent figures in the commof w f alt J 1 - , He heard 
the cele, Cra^ p atr ick Henry deliver his argument against the British debts\ **e declared that 
no language c ou ld describe the splendor and grandeur of the scene. On Novf ° lb ! r • , ' 1793 ' Mr * 
White fwaBappojp^ iudze of the Federal Court of Virginia, which office het? eld J! 1 '" 16 death. 

li ptil 1825, v nite was not only over indefatigable in discharging ; tbe . Dlgh trU8ts of 

his s.^-fn at Ri u T U ne and November of each year, but each buc* 6881 ^ s rnng and 



FAMILY SKETCHES. 



74i 



fell, -whatever might be the state of the roads and the weather, yon wonld see him wending his 
way in his gig, through five counties, of which the tenth judicial district was composed, at the 
appointed time, for the very small salary of sixteen hundred dollars per annum. His reported 
opinions in the case of Hyers, who was tried for murder, and Preston's case, on a question of es- 
toppel, are universally acknowledged to be powerful specimens of sound learning and extensive 
research. 

"When Judge White was in the social circle, the sternness of bis official character was thrown 
•side, and the soft, insinuating manners of the polished cavalier made him the delight and ad- 
miration of all. 

" He kept on steadily in his high career of usefulness to the community until the spring of 
1825, when, in coming to court in Loudoun, he halted for the night at a tavern on the banks of 
the Shenandoah. He retired to his room at an early hour, and was found by the landlord at bed- 
time, sitting by the fireside, stricken with paralysis. He remained in this situation for several 
weeks, and was then borne in a litter to Winchester. Here I saw him, and never Bhall I forget 
the interview. I approached the patriarch for the first time since bis affliction. Alas! how 
changed. His dark and brilliant eye no more flashed with the lightning of genius; those lips, which 
were once vocal in the discharge of his official duties and in establishing the rights of his fellow- 
citizens, were now almost powerless ; the intellect was prostrated ; his noble form was in ruins ; 
all was desolate and sorrowful. I wrung the hand of the patriot, and bid him adieu lorever. He 
died a Christian, and rests near the tomb of General Morgan in Winchester." 

JOHN BAKER WHITE was born near Winchester, Virginia, August 4, 1794. He enlisted 
as a soldier in the War of 1812, and was made an ensign. He was appointed clerk of the circuit 
and superior court of Hampshire County in 1814, and on March 20, 1815, he qualified as clerk, 
and he continued to fill both these offices by successive appointments and elections up to the time 
of his death. In early life he was married to Miss Louisa Tapscott, of Jefferson County, by 
whom he had three children, Susan J., who married William J. Armstrong, of Hampshire 
County ; Juliet Opie, who married Noble Tabb, of Berkeley County, and Arabella, who married 
Judge Lucas P. Thompson, of Augusta County. This wife living only a few years, he afterwards 
married Frances A. Streit, of Winchester, who bore him nine children. He was a man of great 
integrity, kind heart, strong sense, sound judgment, high principle, and broad cultivation. 
He was a Christian, and was prominent in every enterprise for the advancement of the county 
or the betterment of its people, a good lawyer and safe counsellor, true and trusty ic. all the rela- 
tions of life, and with a heart and hand ever open to charity. His life was rich in good deeds, and 
his means and large influence were potent factors in promoting the material interests and moral, 
religious, and intellectual advancement of the people of his county. 

Few men have been more beloved and honored than he was among bis own people. Pos- 
sessed of means in his younger days, his home was the seat of true old Virginia hospitality, and 
it opened its doors not only to friends, relations, and those of worth and high position, young and 
old, who crowded its rooms, but also to every passing soul who needed food or shelter. The house 
first built by bim in his early life was a large brick mansion. It was destroyed by fire in the 
year 1857, and upon its site was then erected the smaller brick house in which be resided until 
driven from it during the war between the States in 1861, and it is now the residence of Julius 
Waddle. 

Among the young persons who to a large degree received their training under his care in his 
office and as inmates of bis home and who afterwards became useful and honorable men were 
Newton Tapscott, a brilliant lawyer, who died at an early age ; Henry M. Bedinger, member of 
Congress and Minister to Denmark ; Alfred P. White and Philip B. Streit, who were in their 
time perhaps the foremost lawyers at the Romney bar ; Judge James D. Armstrong, of the 
Hampshire judicial circuit, and Dr. Robert White, Presbyterian minister, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 
John Baker White up to 1861 was a Union man. He supported Bell and Everett for president 
and vice-president in 1860, and voted for the Union candidates for the convention which passed 
the ordinance of secession, one of whom was Colonel E. M. Armstrong, afterwards of Salem, 
Virginia, who was Mr. White's son-in-law. But when President Lincoln issued his call for 
troops to invade and coerce the seceded States, Mr. White at once ranged himself with his State 
in defence of the rights of the States and the Constitution of the United States a6 Virginia and 
her people had always held them. From that time till his death no man was truer to hi6 State, and 
not many contributed more of effort or suffered more loss in her defence. With three sous out 
of four (the only ones old enough) in the Confederate army, himself active and effective in his 
county in bringing the people of this border county almost in a solid mass to the support of the 
cause in which his State had unsheathed her sword, he inevitably aroused the enmity of the 
Federals, and was compelled to leave his bome to escape arrest. He went with his wife and young 
children to Richmond, and was given a position in the treasury department of the Confederate 
government. He died there on October 9, 1862. His death was no doubt hastened by the loss of 
his property and the anxieties oppressing him. He was buried by the Masonic fraternity in 
Hollywood Cemetery, at Richmond, Rev. Moses D. Hoge of the Presbyteriau Church, Bishop 
Duncan of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and Bishop Minegerode of the Episcopal 
Church, taking part in the funeral services. 

COLONEL ROBERT WHITE, now of the city of Wheeling, son of John Baker White, was 
born in Romney, February 7, 1833. He attended school in Romney, the last being that kept by 
Dr. Foote, at the Literary society building, now the West Virginia institution for the deaf and 
blind. He went into his father's office when fourteen years old and remained there until he 
entered the law school of John W. Brockenbrough, at Lexington, Virginia, where he studied his 
profession as a lawyer. He obtained his license to practise on March 30, 1854, and at once com- 
menced the practice in Romney. Before the war, he was captain of the volunteer military com- 
pany known as the Frontier Riflemen, which marched to Harper's Ferry on May 18, 1861, and 




742 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



reported to Stonewall Jackson, who was then commander of the Virginia troops there. His com- 
pany was assigned as Company I of the Thirteenth Virginia Regiment, then commanded by Col- 
onel A. P. Hill.. During the winter of 1861-62 he was assigned to doty in the ordnance depart- 
ment, until, in 1863, he was authorized to raise a battalion of cavalry. This battalion was raised 
and organized with him as its commanding officer. Some time afterwards it was united with other 
companies, and the Twenty-third Regiment of Virginia cavalry was formed, of which he was 
commissioned the colonel, and in that service he continued until the surrender of General Lee. 

Since the war Colonel White has been prominently connected with many of the importaut 
affairs in the State. In 1876 he was nominated at the Democratic Convention held in Charleston, 
without his asking, as the candidate for attomey-geneial, and was elected to that office by the 
largest majority ever given to any man in the State. The capital of the State was then at 
Wheeling, to which city he removed with his family in the spring of 1877. Many years ago he 
was appointed by the legislature as a member of the State board of trustees of Capon Springs as 
well as of Berkeley Springs. The latter position he resigned some years ago, but still holds his 
membership in the Capon Springs board. 

A few years after the war, be prepared and attended to the passage of the act of the legisla- 
ture establishing the deaf, dumb, and blind institution of the State, and when the board of 
••"gents met at Wheeling to locate the institution, be attended that meeting, and through his 
earnest efforts the institution was located at Romney. He was appointed secretary of the board, 
and for years, while living in Romney, acted as one of the regents. It was through his instru- 
mentality that the contiact was made under which the South Branch Railway was afterwards 
built to Romney, and greatly through his efforts that the means were raised for'its construction; 
and from the beginning, until he removed to Wheeling, he was the president of the company. 

As attorney-general of the State, he had charge of very important suits, in which at that 
Time the State was interested, and among them the cases which invoked the liability of railroad 
companies for taxation, which were decided by the Supreme Court of the State in favor of the 
inate and which decision was afterwards affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States, and 
by reason of which the railroad companies from that day to this have annually paid large sums, 
by way of taxation, into the State treasury. He was appointed and acted as the representative 
of the State upon the 6taff of the chief marshal at the dedication of the Washington monument, 
in Washington, February 22, 1885. He has twice represented Ohio County in the legislature; 
The- first time at the session in 1885, and the last in 1891. At both sessions he was the chairman 
• : the finance committee. He has held the office of solicitor of the city of Wheeling for two 
terms, and has twice been president of the Ohio County Bar Association. He was a member of 
the celebrated arbitration convention which met in Washington, in Slay, 1896, and is now the 
president of the West Virginia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He is also a 
member of the board of trustees of tbe Southern Memorial Association, and one of the executive 
f rninittee of that board, and the chief officer of the West Virginia division of the United Con- 
i derate Veterans, with tbe rank in that organization of major-general. For years he has been 
ne of the ruling elders in the First Presbyterian Church at Wheeling, and was a delegate to the 
Centennial General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church which met in Philadelphia. For 
. -are before leaving Romney, he was Master of Clinton Lodge of Masons, and in the year 1875 
was Grand Master of Masons in the State of West Virginia, and as such laid the corner-stone of 
the capitol building at Wheeling. 

JOHN B. WHITE, son of John B. White, was born in 1837. Was educated at the Potomac 
Seminary at Romney; studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1858; became a partner of 
J unes D. Armstrong in the practice of law, and died unmarried at Romney. He was at the time 
of his death an elder in the Presbyterian Church, and the resolutions of the bar and the officers 
of the court on the occasion of his death express their high appreciation of his talents, lofty 
i. nor, unassuming modesty, and all the other qualities that adorned his character." 

ALEXANDER WHITE, son of John Baker White, was born at Romney in 1841. Was edu- 
i ted at the Potomac Seminary ; was sworn in as deputy clerk of Hampshire County courts, April 
23, 1860. He entered the Confederate service, April 19, 1861, as a private in Company K, Thir- 
teenth Virginia Infantry. He remained with this company, participating in all the campaigns 
iad battles in which the regiment was engaged, until September, 1864. This was A. P. Hill's old 
i ciment, and it was engaged in almost every battle fought by the " Army of Northern Virginia 1 ' 
to that time, serv ing not only around Richmond, but also in the Valley of Virginia and in the 
_ v aryland and Pennsylvania invasions. He became a sergeant in his company and one of String- 
•w's sharpshooters. In the winter of 1863 he was recommended to the War Department for 
transfer and promotion for gallantry. This recommendation was approved by General Lee, and 
Secretary of War in the spring of 1864, but the order never reached him until late in the 
- ruer of that year, when by virtue of it he became first lieutenant of Company C, Twenty- 
rd Virginia Cavalry, in which capacity he served till the end of the war. After the war he 
•;jt to Cumberland, Maryland, and was for nearly two years a clerk in the office of Horace 
sley, clerk of the circuit court of Alleghany County. 
On July 23, 1867, he married Miss Susan L. Williams, of Hardy County, and engaged in farm- 
. g, he residing upon the farm now occupied by the widow and children, on Capon River near 
. e Hampshire Hue, until November, 1884, when he died of pneumonia. He was for some years 
lessor of Hardy County and was candidate for election on the O'Conner ticket in 1872. He 
us a good scholar, an extraordinarily fine conversationalist, with keen wit, fine imagination, 
.<sat logical powers and a wonderful command of language. He was a writer of no mean 
bility, kind, generous, honorable, of perfect integrity, and he won and held the esteem and 
l ections of those with whom he came in contact, and he accomplished in his 6hort life in 
ipon a work for good which has kept his memory bright and dear in all that region. He was 
an elder in the Presbyterian Church, abundant in labors and in charity, and left to his children 




FAMILY SKETCHES. 



743 



that beat of all heritages, a good name. One of his brothers, who knew him beat, speaking of 
him, said "he was the best and brainiest White." As soldier, citizen, gentleman, Christian, he 
stood, like Saul of Tarsus, among his brethren higher than them all. 

CAPTAIN C. S. WHITE was born in Romney, March 10, 1840, and was educated at the 
Potomac Seminary in his native town. He is a son of John Baker White, who was clerk of 
Hampshire County courts and an officer in the War of 1812, and a grandson of Judge Robert 
White, who was an officer in the Revolutionary War. Inspired with the same spirit and motives 
which led them into the military service of their State, he, on April 19, 1861, entered the army 
of Virginia as a private in the Thirteenth Virginia Infantry. He served with that regiment in 
the Confederate army more than a year, until disabled and discharged, being promoted by suc- 
cessive steps to 6ergeant-major, and acting adjutant. During the winter of 1862 and 1863 ho 
was first a clerk, and then head of a bureau in the Confederate treasury department: In the 
spring of 1863, having become able for cavalry, though not for infantry service, he resigned his 
position in the treasury department, and under a commission from President Davi? raised within 
the Federal lines a company of two hundred men for special service. Declining promotion, he 
remained with his company till the close of the war, receiving one severe and two slight 
wounds. After the surrender of Lee, he started with part of his company to join Johnston in 
North Carolina, but Johnston having surrendered before they reached him, the men were dis- 
banded, without surrender or parole, and he returned to his home, reaching there about June 
1, 1865. Upon his return home, being then an unpardoned and unparoled rebel, debarred by 
the then existing laws of his State from practising the profession of law for which he had been 
educated, he rented a farm and engaged successfully in agriculture. 

In 1872, the legal disabilities of all ex-Confederates having been removed, he was elected 
clerk of the county court of Hampshire, and has by successive re-elections held the place ever 
since. He was for a term clerk of the circuit court also, but declined to be a candidate for re- 
election to that office. 

In 1876, being chairman of the county Democratic committee, he organized and carried out 
the campaign in his county, which resulted in swelling the Democratic majority from four hun- 
dred and forty-nine in the preceding election to thirteen hundred and sixty-nine. 

In 1877 he was appointed fish commissioner for the State of West Virginia • was reap- 
pointed by each succeeding Democratic governor, and was for most of the time president of 
the commission. 

In a senatorial convention at Moorefield, in August, 1886, he proposed and advocated, and 
after strong opposition on grounds of expediency, the convention adopted, the first straight 
tariff reform and anti-monopoly resolutions ever passed by a Democratic convention of West 
Virginia. He was among the very first of Hampshire Democrats to declare himself opposed to 
the financial policy of President Cleveland's administration. The Democrats of Hampshire 
were the first in the State to declare in public meeting their opposition to this policy, and Cap- 
tain White made the first public speech delivered in the county denouncing it, and was there- 
after active in assisting in the organization of his party on that line of policy which resulted in 
the nomination of William J. Bryan for president. He has been a delegate to most of the sena- 
torial and congressional conventions and to every gubernatorial convention (except one) of his 
party, and in these conventions has always been found with the majority of Hampshire's dele- 
gates supporting Democratic principles and usually successful candidates 

Independent in thought and character and fearless in following his convictions, he has never 
been a follower of party leaders, but always a consistent though liberal Democrat, He was from 
its formation until June 1897, commander of Camp Hampshire, Number 446, united Confederate 
veterans, which was the first camp ever organized in West Virginia. He was also one of the 
first members of the committee of the Southern Memorial Association, appointed by General J. 
B. Gordon, and assisted in drafting the plans for the organization and consolidation of that asso- 
ciation, and for securing the erection of the Battle Abbey of the South in accordance with the 
proposition of Charles B. Roues. Failing health and press of private affairs determined him to 
resign th is position early in 1897, and upon the acceptance of this resignation, Colonel Robert 
White of Wheeling was appointed in his stead. 

Captain White waB married July 25, 1867, to Miss Bessie J. Schultze, a daughter of Robert 
Schultze, of Edinburgh, Scotland, a member of the British diplomatic service residing at the time 
of her birth at Rotterdam, Holland. She was the mother of Captain White's son, John Baker 
White, and died June 24, 1869. On May 26, 1873, he was again married to Miss Catherine, daugh- 
ter of Thomas G. Steele of Fairmont, West Virginia, and has by her four children, Louisa, Anna, 
Robert C. S., Jr., and Bessie. 

Captain White is a Mason, a member of Clinton Lodge at Romney, and a Past Master. He 
is a member of the Presbyterian Church. 

CAPTAIN JOHN B. WHITE, son of Captain C. S. White, was born at Romney, West Vir- 
gina, August 24, 1868. His mother was the first wife of Captain White, to whom he was married 
July 25, 1867. Her maiden name was Bessie J. Schultze. His education was in the public schools 
and in his father's home. From the time he was thirteen years old, he went to school from nine 
until four o'clock and worked on the farm before and after school, and during his vacations. 
He quit school at the age of sixteen, and the next two years were spent on the farm,, in the 
county clerk's office, and in private study. At the age of eighteen he was appointed messenger 
in the office of the Secretary of State, Henry S. Walker. He was raised to the grade of a clerk in 
the office, again promoted to stationery clerk, and finally made chief clerk during the latter part 
of Mr. Walker's term. He was retained in this office by Mr. Walker's successor as a clerk until 
March 8, 1893, on which date he was appointed private secretary to the governor for the term of 
four years commencing March 4, 1893. 

After leaving home he was entirely on his own resources, and by his own bard work and 



744 



HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE. 



conscientious devotion to duty made his way. In politics he is a Democrat, and was recognized 
in the campaigns of 1892 and 1896 as a leader of young men. He was a member of the governor's 
guard in 1888, and was gradually promoted to the command of the second battalion of the second 
Regiment of West Virginia National Guards. He was a number of times despatched to the scene 
of the strikes in this State, as the special representative of the governor. Captain White is a 
practising attorney in Charleston. He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, being a Boyal 
Arch Mason. 

ROBERT J. YOSTE, farmer of Gore district, son of Henry and Eliza Toste, was born 1847 ; 
German and Irish ancestry ; married Rachel C, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Saville, 1873; 
children, William, Bertha R., and Eliza E. 

J. D. ZILER, farmer of Bloomery, son of George and Mary A. Ziler, German parentage, was 
born 1839; married, 1880, Emily A., daughter of Israel and Elizabeth Hardy; children, George 
L and Israel H. He lives twenty-six miles from Romney on a farm of four hundred and fifty 
acres, ninety improved. He and his brother Joshua once had the remarkable experience of 
catching a black bear in the wood, one of them holding its mouth shut while the other cut its 
throat. It had been in a tree, and when it came down they grabbed it. 



THE END. 



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